MPSC:
Historical & Cultural Resource Areas RKG Working Paper, Review comments;
June 2, 2014
Following are the MPSC comments on the Historical & Cultural Resource Areas Working
Paper.
1. General comment: The working paper identifies all of the problems and issues and
prescribes very comprehensively and clearly the actions that must be taken by the
historical and cultural preservation organizations in town. Assuming that these words will
find their way into the Implementation section of the Master Plan, we will know what to
do. Excellent job.
2. General comment: Why are there references to open space preservation activities in
this section? Wouldn’t that belong in the Open Space/Natural Resource section?
Actually, according to the working paper topics Judi gave us, one was supposed to be on
Natural and Cultural Resources and one on Open Space and Recreation.
3. Page 1 B. Key Findings: Identify “preservation organizations” (3rd bullet). Does that
include Historical Society? Fruitlands Museum?
4. Page 1 B. Key Findings, 4th sub-bullet: Remove ‘the’ in “…and the man-made
resources…”
5. Pg 2, last para: Clara Endicott Sears, as with Edward Fiske Warren, Bronson Alcott and
others was an important and prominent contributor to the culture and history of
Harvard, she should be given credit for founding the present-day Fruitlands Museum in
1914.
6. Page 2 1st paragraph: Explain meaning of Bare Hill (I’ve heard is that the Native
Americans burned the understory so hunting would be easier). We recommend that the
sentence “…, including local nomenclature such as “Bare Hill.” be modified to add the
phrase: “…which was bare because of the native American’s custom of setting fire to
the underbrush through the woodlands in that area.” This is according to historian
Henry Nourse.
7. Page 2 2nd paragraph: Most development in Harvard is by single to 4 lots at a time.
Larger subdivisions are quite rare. Text incorrectly implies there have been many large
subdivisions.
8. Page 2 4th paragraph: Location of Union Turnpike is not correct. The turnpike did not
run through Still River Village, rather over Prospect Hill Road and west through what is
now part of Fruitlands Museum (basically parallel to Rt 2). Change phrase to: “…along
the early Lancaster-Groton road established by the first settlers in the 17th century.” This
fact even more so establishes the intrinsic historical significance of Still River and its
main thoroughfare.
9. Page 3: Fort Devens has 3 components: south post (directly west of Still River
Village/Prospect Hill area – approx. 5,000 acres) and which is still an active training
area; main post (between Rt 2 and the Fitchburg rail line in Ayer; and north post (north
of the rail line to Rt 2A). The main and north posts (approx. 4,400 acres, 2,700 of
which are in Harvard) were decommissioned in the 1996.
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MPSC:
Historical & Cultural Resource Areas RKG Working Paper, Review comments;
June 2, 2014
10. Page 4 – Town Hall: Need to update last sentence regarding restoration, as the original
plan for a new addition to the rear and other improvements is being modified due to a
lack of funds.
11. Page 5 – Churches: The correct name of the Congregational Church is the
Congregational Church of Harvard. Finally, the application to Town Meeting in 2013 by
the Congregational Church for CPA funds to restore the columns was denied by the town
meeting. That sentence should be deleted.
12. Page 6 –top paragraph: In the last sentence of this paragraph “this” needs to be
changed to “that” so reads “At that time, a preservation restriction….”
13. Page 6 – Fruitlands Museum: Please change the second sentence of the 2nd para to
read: “In 1914, two years after she built her home, ‘The Pergolas’ on Prospect Hill Road,
Clara Endicott Sears purchased Fruitland’s farmhouse and grounds and established one
of the nation’s first outdoor museums.”
14. Page 7, Heritage Landscapes, last sentence. The footnote number should be
superscripted.
15. Page 8 2nd paragraph: The Pin Hill quarry is, in fact, protected as conservation land
although the larger part of the 51-acre historic area which speaks to Harvard’s history
with apple orchards and the home of Luther Farwell and later Edward Houghton, is
privately-owned and not protected.
16. Page 9 chart: Calkin Farm in on Littleton County Road; Charlie Brown Farm is now
protected (purchased in 2013 by the Harvard Conservation Trust); Great Elms
farmhouse is not owned by HCT but rather by CHOICE, a Chelmsford housing non-profit,
and about 70 acres (need to confirm) is owned by the Conservation Commission;
Whitney Lane Farm and Watt Farm are co-mingled – Whitney Lane is a private horse
farm on Littleon County Rd and Whitney Lane while the Watt Farm, on Still River Depot
Rd., was a dairy farm which was purchased (except for the house and barns) by the US
Fish & Wildlife Service for inclusion in the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge.
17. Page 9 – Designed Landscapes: The formal garden was part of Miss Sears summer
home, ‘The Pergolas’; not part of Fruitlands (though the remains are on the museum
grounds).
18. Page 10 – Bellevue Cemetery: You can’t see the pond from the cemetery, so that
reference should be deleted.
19. Page 10, Scenic Roads, 2nd subpara: Of the four notable roadways, only three are
listed. Either add a fourth, or change the reference to three.
20. Page 11 –top paragraph, last sentence ending with “…noting some organic growth and
graffiti on the statue at the time.” Add a sentence to note that a project to professionally
clean the Civil War memorial was completed using CPC funding in 2012.
21. Page 11 –Industrial Objects: Unfortunately, the Inventory Record in our Local Register
as filed with the MHC incorrectly spelled John Prescott’s name. Nevertheless, we should
correctly refer to John Prescott in this paragraph.
22. Page 12 – Fort Devens: As Joe noted, the Fort Devens Cemetery also has remains of
German and Italian prisoners of war (I think WW II, but I’m not sure).
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MPSC:
Historical & Cultural Resource Areas RKG Working Paper, Review comments;
June 2, 2014
23. Page 12, Historic Resources of Fort Devens, 2nd sub-bullet, end of 1st sentence: change
footnote number to superscript.
24. Page 13, Historic and Cultural Resource Planning, change “TOWN BOARDS” to “TOWN
GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS”
25. Page 14 – Cemetery Commission: The marker restoration being done on the Shaker
Village Cemetery was done as a joint project with the Historic Commission.
26. Page 14 – Private Organizations: Why is the Harvard Conservation Trust included here?
Shouldn’t it be in the Natural Resources and Open Space section? This Working Paper
and later, the Master Plan must clearly distinguish between the the two missions: (1)
the preservation of our historical and cultural places, and (2) the conservation of our
open spaces.
27. Page 15 – top paragraph: The CR’s HCT holds are on town-owned (Conservation
Commission) lands. The HCT currently owns 265 acres (not 250).
28. Page 17 – CPA chart: Re Shaker Cemetery 2010 funds: Remove ‘?’ after “Removal of
trees” and status should read “In progress.” Funding amount - $5,655.
29. Page 23 – I liked seeing the reference to Phase 1 Goals! Would be good to have in other
working papers/elements as well.
30. Page 23 – This is the section where we need to talk about the goals of historical
preservation and those of land conservation and talk about how the two kinds of
organizations should collaborate to focus on areas like Holy Hill, the Shaker Spring
House and other resources where the two organizations have common interests. Should
a joint sub-committee be formed which focuses on these joint resources on an on-going
basis?
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