Borderland State Park
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Borderland is one of Massachusetts' state parks, located in the towns of Easton and Sharon. The main entrance and visitor center are located in Easton.
In 1906, Oakes Ames, a Harvard botanist (son of Massachusetts governor Oliver Ames and grandson of U.S. Representative Oakes Ames), and his wife Blanche Ames Ames (daughter of Mississippi governor Adelbert Ames, but not related to Oakes Ames), an artist and feminist, purchased land on the border of Sharon and Easton. The country estate they named “Borderland” remained in the family for sixty-five years. In 1971, two years after the death of Blanche Ames, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts acquired the estate and opened it as a state park.
Borderland continues to offer the public many of the same pleasures that the Ameses enjoyed, such as walking and horseback riding on woodland trails, fishing and canoeing in the ponds, and, in winter, ice skating and sledding. The family’s home, a three-story stone mansion built in 1910, still stands. Its twenty rooms are furnished much as they were when the Ameses lived here; many of Blanche Ames’ paintings grace the walls. During the spring, summer, and fall, the house is open to visitors for regularly scheduled guided tours (as of 2006: April-November, 3rd Sunday of each month at 1 pm, duration approximately 2 hours, cost $3 per person; group tours also available by appointment).
The 1,570-acre (635-hectare) park is operated by the Department of Environmental Management’s Division of Forests and Parks. An appointed Advisory Council participates in policy decision-making.
In recent years, Borderland has served as the home for Oliver Ames High School cross country running, representing the school's home course. The park also hosts the Hockomock League Championship meet and various invitational meets on the 2.7 mile-loop course. In 1996, the World Masters Flying Disc Championships were held at Borderland.
