Greycourt State Park

Greycourt State Park
Massachusetts State Park
Present day Greycourt
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Essex
City	Methuen
Location
- coordinates	42°43′45.9552″N 71°10′50.9118″W / 42.729432000°N 71.180808833°W / 42.729432000; -71.180808833Coordinates: 42°43′45.9552″N 71°10′50.9118″W / 42.729432000°N 71.180808833°W / 42.729432000; -71.180808833
Area	24 acres (10 ha)
Managed by	Methuen Public Works Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Location of Greycourt State Park in Massachusetts
Website : Lawrence Heritage State Park

Greycourt State Park (alternately Grey Court) is a 24-acre (9.7 ha) Massachusetts state park located in Methuen, built atop the restored ruins of the Charles H. Tenney estate. The park is a satellite of Lawrence Heritage State Park. Department of Conservation and Recreation staff works closely with the Methuen Public Works department who look after it on a daily basis. The Tenney Castle Gatehouse is associated with this property and it is under special permit with the Methuen Historical Society.

Grey Court

Grey Court (aka Tenney Castle), designed by Carrère and Hastings, prominent New York architects, was the centerpiece of the Charles Tenney's 75-acre (30 ha) rolling estate. Begun in 1890 and completed two years later, the mansion was modeled after Château d'Yquem, the ancestral seat of Montaigne, and served as the Tenney family's summer home.^[1] Ernest W. Bowditch, designed the grounds. He had laid out several estates in Newport, Rhode Island, including Marble House, W. K. Vanderbilt's estate; designed Tuxedo Park in New York; and landscaped Colgate University. His designs for Grey Court's surrounds won a prestigious horticultural prize in 1902.^[2]

From New England Families (1913):

The town of Methuen, Massachusetts, where he makes his home in summer, has been largely benefited by his generosity. This picturesque little town has been greatly beautified by Mr. Tenney. His magnificent estate, laid out by modern landscape artists, is a beautiful park in itself and is always open to the public. The mansion, modeled after the Chateau Yquem, the ancestral seat of the great Montaigne, crowns a sightly hill, and is approached by a winding driveway, a mile long. Southwest of the mansion is an unenclosed quadrangle in the Italian style, two sides of which form an open corridor, its roof supported upon pillars of richly colored marble. The view from the hill overlooking the city of Lawrence and the Andovers is superb.^[2]

Gatehouse

Tenney Gatehouse 2005

Now home to the Methuen Historical Society and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Tenney Gatehouse was originally a rough stone farmhouse built by Richard Whittier in 1830. Tenney purchased it in 1882 and remodeled to become the entry point to Greycourt.^[3]

State Park

On January 11, 2001, the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives in General Court approved $1,750,000 for the rehabilitation and repair of the Greycourt State Park, including public safety improvements and courtyard renovations.^[4] The park offers wooded walking trails and scenic landscape and is open dawn to dusk.^[5] In recent years the park has hosted many city activities, such as a summer concert series,^[6] paranormal investigation fundraisers,^[7] and the city's annual Fall Festivals.^[8]

Winding driveway
what remains of the original courtyard
the south side of the portico, with the outline of the turret
Halloween event on the Grey Court lawn
inside the portico
entrance to the portico
looking west from the portico stairs
circa 1900
circa 1900
circa 1910 postcard
1920s Gatehouse with Castle

References

↑ Gagnon, Dan (August 2008). Methuen: An Eclectic History. The History Press. p. 128. ISBN 1-59629-422-1. |accessdate= requires |url= (help)
↑ 2.0 2.1 New England Families: Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 2, William Richard Cutter ed. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1913. Page 566. Accessed 2010.07.09
↑ MethuenHistory.org Charles H Tenney Estate Pleasant St. accessed 2010.10.09
↑ "Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. Department Of Environmental Management. / 2100-0010 Acts 2000 Chapter 410, Section 2a". Retrieved 2010-11-09.
↑ "Lawrence Heritage State Park". MassParks. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Department of Conservation and Recreation. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
↑ "Summer concert series starts next week in Methuen". Eagle Tribune. May 30, 2008. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
↑ "Paranormal activities will benefit historical society". Eagle Tribune. October 6, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
↑ "Methuen City of Family Fall Festival". Retrieved 2010-12-19.

Protected areas of Massachusetts

Federal

National Historical Parks	Adams Blackstone River Valley Boston Lowell Minute Man New Bedford Whaling

National Historic Sites	Boston African American Frederick Law Olmsted John Fitzgerald Kennedy Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters Salem Maritime Saugus Iron Works Springfield Armory

Other National Park Service Units	Appalachian National Scenic Trail Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area Cape Cod National Seashore

National Wildlife Refuges	Assabet River Great Meadows Mashpee Massasoit Monomoy Nantucket Nomans Land Oxbow Parker River Silvio O. Conte Thacher Island

Other	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve West Hill Dam (USACE)

State

State Parks	Alewife Brook Ames Nowell Ashland Bash Bish Falls Blackstone River and Canal Heritage Borderland Boston Harbor Islands Bradley Palmer C. M. Gardner Callahan Castle Island State Park Chicopee Memorial City Square Clarksburg Cochituate Connecticut River Greenway Demarest Lloyd Dighton Rock Dunn Ellisville Harbor Fall River Heritage Gardner Heritage Great Brook Farm Halibut Point Hampton Ponds Holyoke Heritage Hopkinton Lake Lorraine Lake Wyola Lawrence Heritage Lowell Heritage Lynn Heritage Massasoit Maudslay Moore Mount Holyoke Range Natural Bridge Nickerson Pearl Hill Pilgrim Quinsigamond Robinson Roxbury Heritage Rutland Skinner South Cape Beach Wahconah Falls Webb Memorial Wells Western Gateway Heritage Whitehall Wompatuck

Reservations	Beaver Brook Belle Isle Marsh Blue Hills Breakheart Charles River Chestnut Hill Cutler Dorchester Shores Elm Bank Fort Phoenix Hammond Pond Hemlock Gorge Horseneck Beach Jug End Lynn Shore Middlesex Fells Mount Everett Mount Greylock Mount Sugarloaf Mount Tom Myles Standish Mystic River Nahant Beach Nantasket Beach Nasketucket Bay Neponset River Pope John Paul II Purgatory Chasm Quincy Quarries Quincy Shore Revere Beach Rumney Marsh Salisbury Beach Sandy Point Scusset Beach Stony Brook Upper Charles River Wachusett Mountain Walden Pond West Island Weymouth Wilson Mountain

Other	Appalachian Trail Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Cape Cod Rail Trail Fort Revere Lake Dennison Recreation Area Lower Neponset River Trail Nashua River Rail Trail Norwottuck Rail Trail Quabbin Reservoir Southwest Corridor Park Squantum Point Park Streeter Point Recreation Area Sudbury Reservoir Wachusett Reservoir Ware River Watershed Area

State Forests	Barnstable Beartown Berkley Brimfield Chester-Blandford DAR Douglas Erving F. Gilbert Hills Federated Women's Club Franklin Freetown-Fall River Georgetown-Rowley Gilbert A. Bliss Granville Harold Parker Kenneth Dubuque Memorial Leominster Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro Manuel F. Correllus Mohawk Trail Monroe Mount Grace Mount Washington Myles Standish October Mountain Otter River Pittsfield Sandisfield Savoy Mountain Shawme-Crowell Spencer Tolland Upton Wendell Willard Brook Willowdale Windsor

Wildlife Management Areas	Agawam Lake Agawam Mill Pond Ashby Ashfield Hawley Attitash Ayer Game Farm Baddacook Pond Bakers Pond Bay Circuit Trail Bearse Pond Becket Bennett Birch Hill Black Brook Blackstone / West River Bolton Flats Boxboro Station Brayton Point Salt Marsh Breakneck Brook Brewer Brook Bullock Ledge Burrage Pond Canoe River Catamount Chalet Chase Garden Creek Salt Marsh Childs River Chockalog Swamp Church Homestead Clapps Pond Clinton Bluff Concord River Connecticut River Cook Pond Copicut Coy Hill Crane Pond Cummington Cusky Pond Dartmoor Farm Darwin Scott Memorial Day Mountain Deerfield River Dogfish Bar Beach Coastal Dolomite Ledges Dunstable Brook E. Kent Swift Eagle Island East Mountain Eastham Salt Marsh Elbow Meadow English Salt Marsh Eugene D. Moran Facing Rock Fairfield Brook Farmington River Fish Brook Fisherville Pond Fisk Forestdale Lot Fisk Meadows Five Mile River Flagg Swamp Flint Pond Four Chimneys Fox Den Fox Island Salt Marsh Frances A. Crane Freetown Swamp George L. Darey Housatonic Valley Glen Echo Lake Gosnold Grassy Pond (Dennis) Grassy Pond (Plymouth) Green River (Franklin County) Green River (Berkshire County) Greenfield River Halfway Pond Hamilton Hancock Harlow / Cooks Pond Haskell Swamp Hauk Swamp Hawksnest State Park Hawley Head Of The Plains Herman Covey High Ridge Hinsdale Flats Hiram H. Fox Hockomock Swamp Hog Pond Lot Honey Pot Hoosatonic River Hoosic River Hop Brook Housatonic River Hubbard Brook Hunting Hills Hyannis Ponds Ipswich River John J. Kelly Joint Base Cape Cod Jug End Fen Jug End Kampoosa Fen Katama Plains Knops Pond Konkapot River Lackey Pond Lake Lorraine Lake Rohunta Lake Snipatuit Lake Warner Lanesboro Lawrence Brook Lawrence Pond Lot Leadmine Leyden Lilly Pond Little Alum Pond Long Sought For Pond Maple Hill Maple Springs Martha Deering Martin H. Burns Mascuppic Lake Mashpee Pine Barrens Mashpee Pond Lot Mashpee River Mckinstry Brook Meetinghouse Swamp Merrill Pond Miacomet Heath Mill River Millers River Mine Brook Montague Plains Montague Moose Brook Moose Brook Moose Hill Mossy Pond Mount Watatic Reservation Mt. Esther Mt. Toby Highlands Mt. Toby Mt. Tom Muddy Brook Muddy Pond Mulpus Brook Nashua River Natty Brook Nemasket River Nissitissit River Noquochoke Nordeen Marsh North Brookfield North Shore Salt Marsh Northboro Oakham Olivers Pond Orange Otis Packard Pond Palmer Pantry Brook Pauchaug Brook Peru Peterson Swamp Phillipston Podunk Marsh Poland Brook Popple Camp Popponesset Beach Poutwater Pond Powell Brook Prince River Provincetown Route 6 Corridor Purchade Brook Quaboag Quacumquasit Quag Pond Bog Quashnet River Quashnet Woods State Reservation Quinapoxet River Quinsigamond Marsh Quisset Raccoon Hill Rainbow Beach Red Brook Richardson Robbins Pond Rochester Rocky Gutter Rowe Salisbury Salt Marsh Salisbury Salt Marsh Sandwich Game Farm Sandy Pond Satan's Kingdom Savage Hill Savoy Sawmill River Scorton Creek Coastal SE Mass Bioreserve Sevenmile River Shattuck Brook Sheperds Island Shubael Pond Sibley Brook Sly Pond South Barrier Beach South Meadow Pond South Shore Salt Marsh South Triangle Pond Southampton Southwick Spectacle Pond Springhill Lot Sputtermill Pond Squannacook River Stafford Hill Sudbury River Sunderland Islands Taconic Mountain Taunton River Taunton River Tekoa Mountain Thad Ellis Thayer Pond Three Mile Pond Townsend Townsend Hill Trapfall Brook Triangle Pond Tully Brook Tully Mountain Tully River Wakeby Pond Wales Walnut Hill Ware River Warwick Wendell West Meadows Westboro Westfield River Westfield Weymouth Back River Whately Great Swamp Whately Ponds Whately Wilbraham Game Farm William Forward Williams River Williamsburg Winimusset Wolf Swamp

Wildlife Sanctuaries	Billingsgate Island Carr Island E. Howe Forbush Egg Rock Grace A. Robson J.C. Phillips Knight Penikese Island Ram Island (Salisbury) Ram Island (Mattapoisett) Susan B. Minns Tarpaulin Cove Watatic Mountain

Private

The Nature Conservancy	Black Pond Bog Boat Meadow Francis Newhall Woods Grassy Pond Greene Swamp Halfway Pond Island Hawley Bog Hockomock Swamp Hoft Farm Homer-Watcha Preserve Katama Plains McElwain-Olsen Miacomet Moors Reed Brook Drury Sandy Neck David H. Smith Preserve and Fire Trail Stacy Mountain Tatkon

Trustees of Reservations	Agassiz Rock Appleton Farms Appleton Farms Grass Rides Ashintully Gardens Bartholomew's Cobble Bear's Den Bear Swamp Colonel John Ashley House Francis William Bird Park Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate Bridge Island Meadows Brooks Woodland William Cullen Bryant Homestead Cape Poge Cedariver Castle Hill Chapel Brook Charles River Peninsula Chase Woodlands Chesterfield Gorge Coolidge Copicut Woods Cormier Woods Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge Crane Beach Crane Wildlife Refuge Crowninshield Island Dexter Drumlin Dinosaur Footprints Doane's Falls Doyle Dry Hill East Over Elliott Laurel Field Farm Fork Factory Brook Glendale Falls Goose Pond Greenwood Farm Halibut Point Hamlin Holmes Governor Hutchinson's Field Jacobs Hill Little Tom Mountain Long Hill Long Point Lowell Holly Lyman Reserve Malcolm Mashpee River McLennan Medfield Meadow Lots Medfield Rhododendrons Menemsha Hills Misery Islands Mission House Monument Mountain Moose Hill Farm Mount Ann Park Mountain Meadow Mytoi Naumkeag Noanet Woodlands Noon Hill Norris North Common Meadow Norton Point Beach Notchview Old Manse Old Town Hill Peaked Mountain Pegan Hill Peters Petticoat Hill Pierce Pine and Hemlock Knoll Powisset Farm Questing Quinebaug Woods Ravenswood Park Redemption Rock Rock House Rocky Narrows Rocky Woods Royalston Falls Shattuck Signal Hill Slocum's River Stavros Stevens-Coolidge Swift River Tantiusques Tully Lake Campground Two Mile Farm Tyringham Cobble Ward Wasque Weir Hill Weir River Farm Westport Town Farm Whitney and Thayer Woods World's End

Audubon Society Wildlife Sanctuaries	Arcadia Broad Meadow Brook Broadmoor Daniel Webster Drumlin Farm High Ledges Ipswich River Moose Hill North River Pleasant Valley Stony Brook Wachussett Meadow Wellfleet Bay

Other	Concord Land Conservation Trust Harvard Forest Lincoln Land Conservation Trust Lloyd Center for the Environment Lynn Woods Reservation Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary

Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (Massachusetts)