Mystic River Reservation

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Coordinates: 42°29′47.8″N 71°19′5.1″W / 42.496611°N 71.318083°W / 42.496611; -71.318083
Mystic River Reservation
Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston
A view of the park and the Mystic Valley Parkway in Arlington
Country United States
State Massachusetts
Counties Middlesex, Suffolk
Municipalities Winchester
Arlington
Medford
Somerville
Everett
Chelsea
Coordinates 42°29′47.8″N 71°19′5.1″W / 42.496611°N 71.318083°W / 42.496611; -71.318083
Founded 1893
Management Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Location of Mystic River Reservation
Website: Mystic River Reservation
A walking path (a dry section of the former Middlesex Canal) near George Shannon Beach in Massachusetts

The Mystic River Reservation is a publicly owned nature preserve located along the Mystic River in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It forms part of the 75-square-mile (190 km2) Mystic River watershed, and runs through the towns of Winchester, Arlington, Medford, Somerville, Everett, and Chelsea.[1]

The reservation was established in 1893 by the newly formed Metropolitan Parks Commission (later renamed the Metropolitan District Commission),[2] making it one of the first official nature preserves in Massachusetts, and one of five designed by the commission in that year.[3] Of these five, three were planned as woodland river reservations: the Mystic River Reservation, Charles River Reservation, and Neponset River Reservation.[2] The Mystic River Reservation originally comprised a little over 100 hectares (250 acres) of land.[3]

By the early 20th century, most of the land along the Mystic River in Medford, Arlington, and Somerville had become public (i.e. state-owned) land.[1] The reservation is currently maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Bureau of Urban Parks and Recreation.[2]

The reservation includes four waterfront parks: Draw Seven Park in Somerville; Torbert MacDonald Park in Medford; the Mystic Lakes in Winchester, Arlington, and Medford; and Mary O'Malley Waterfront Park in Chelsea.[4] The reservation is open to the public year round, from dawn to dusk.[5]

In 2010, the DCR unveiled a plan for restoring and preserving the reservation, called the Mystic River Master Plan. Proposed projects include a partnership between the DCR and the City of Medford to restore the Condon Shell (an outdoor amphitheater located just outside Medford Square); restoration of the Amelia Earhart Dam Basin parklands; and a $3.6 million federally funded link between the reservation, the Minuteman Bikeway, and the Alewife "T" Station.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) (2010-09-16). "State Releases Mystic River Master Plan" (Press release). InsideMedford.com. Retrieved 2011-05-28. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Division of Urban Parks and Recreation History". Department of Conservation and Recreation. Archived from the original on 2013-03-10. Retrieved 2013-08-23. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 Board of Paris Exposition Managers (Boston, Mass.); Massachusetts. Board of Metropolitan Park Commissioners (1900). A history and description of the Boston metropolitan parks. Published under the authority of the Metropolitan Park Commissioners by the Board of Paris Exposition Managers. pp. 1–. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 
  4. "Mystic River Reservation". Somerville.patch.com Retrieved on 2011-05-28. 
  5. "Mystic River Reservation". MassParks. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Department of Conservation and Recreation. Retrieved August 23, 2013. 

External links

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