Brookside Park was not in Brookside, at least the section of town we call Brookside today, but was located along the Nashua, Acton and Boston “Red Line” railroad track and Forge Village Road.
As early as 5 Sept. 1908, the following article appeared in the Westford Wardsman, “The park lands. Frank A. Levey of Union Hill, N.J., was in town last week, searching for his real estate located at Brookside park, near Graniteville. The assessors were asked to join in the search. This park being mostly water of the frog-pond variety, and steep precipice, and the balance imagination on paper to help sell the park, it is a difficult task to satisfy the many lot owners that this uninhabitable frog and mosquito headquarters is their property and is identical with that thriving, growing park they bought on paper. A Lowell party when shown her property wished the assessors were all in that hot region where water is not reported to be as abundant as at this park. Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island are all represented in ownership in this park and still coming. It is gathering a national reputation like unto Yellowstone and Yosemite. Look for a low rate of taxes from prospective land and water sales.”
And on 5 Dec. 1908 the following, “A bank in Montreal is searching for values in the celebrated Brookside park near Graniteville. Have patience, dear bank. Just at present its sidewalks are under water and its streets are in the air. Besides, it is not the season for its other values to be on exhibition, frogs, mosquitoes and water snakes having gone into winter quarters; besides, just at present there are more owners than land. Wonder who will pop up next and lay claim to ownership. It is about time for the bank of England to be laying claim to this paper park.”
The 1913 town report listed taxes remaining unpaid for 1911. There were 15 names listed under “Brookside Park Lots Uncollectible.” The same 1913 town report listed 22 names for 1912 with unpaid taxes in Brookside Park Lots. The 1914 report continued to list 16 names.
Newspaper correspondent, Samuel L. Taylor, reported on Town Meeting in the Westford Wardsman of 22 March 1913 regarding the publication of names of non-payers of taxes and stated, “Art. 32. Relating to the manner of collecting taxes, brought L. W. Wheeler to perpendicular position and moved an amendment whereby the collector could print the uncollectable taxes on Brookside park property as one item instead of listing them individually as now. Capt. Fletcher objected to the amendment on the ground that he liked to read the names of the individuals who were fools enough to buy Brookside park property mostly under water, the inhabitants being only summer visitors—snakes, frogs and mosquitoes. The amendment did not prevail, neither will sidewalks prevail there this year.”
And on 14 March 1914, Taylor wrote in the Wardsman, “The Brookside park assessments are reported ‘uncollectable.’ Sell them Mr. Collector, let the town buy them. It is doubtful if any owner can bound his lot. Adjoining towns sell for a twenty-five tax and bid them in and then let the defendants prove their claim.”
Pages 65 – 67 of the 1915 Westford Tax Valuations listed the names of all the lot owners. Not one was from Westford.
After all this negative press, the Wardsman of 18 Oct. 1919 reported that “Harry C. Green has sold some more of the Brookside Park lots.” In 1925 and 1935 tax valuations Harry C. Greene of Chelmsford was taxed on “Unsold portion of land near West Graniteville, 12 acres.”
On 27 Oct. 1941 Harry C. Greene sold his remaining land at Brookside Park to Charles Freeman. Unfortunately neither lot numbers nor acres were given. The deed (MNRD 969-398) states “excepting therefrom lots which have been sold.” In 1949, Freeman sold his 20 acres to Frederick Russell (1892-1964) of Chelmsford. Tax valuations for 1966 show Frederick Russell owning “unsold portion Brookside Park 12 acres.”
Lastly, in 1968, “The town voted to take by eminent domain a section of town known as Brookside Park.” One of the pieces was sold by Wilfred and Dorothy LePage of Longboat Key, Florida, on 27 Jan. 1971, for one dollar to the Town of Westford to be controlled by the Conservation Commission, “a certain parcel of vacant land which was identified as lot 34, containing 2500 sq. ft. on the Graniteville Park plan (MNRD, book 1952, p. 66).
The town also received 12 acres from the estate of Frederick Russell. That area is now known as the Russell Bird Sanctuary. The larger parcel shown as Plan Book 22, Plan 12 consists of 20.74 acres and the narrow strip referred to in Plan Book 19, Plan 41 contains four acres. This is all now owned by the town and is in the care and custody of the Conservation Commission.
There was yet another piece to be added. From the 1970 annual town report, p. 112, Report of the Conservation Commission. “The Conservation Commission would like to express its thanks in behalf of the town to Stoney [sic] Brook Realty for a gift of land known as the Old Red Line. This gift has enlarged the Fred Russell Bird Sanctuary and greatly enhanced it as a town owned conservation property.”
So next time you park your vehicle on Cold Spring Road and you and the dog walk the old railroad line to the arch bridge, you can take a step back in history and really appreciate the open area.
And just east of all this near the corner of Pine Ridge and Cold Spring Roads was the town dump. But that’s a story for another day.