Grants and Improvements to Brooks Estate

View of main entrance of the "porte-cochere" of Shepherd Brooks house

October, 1897. By Sarah L. Brooks. Courtesy Medford Brooks Estate Land Trust

In recent years several grants have been written for the Brooks Estate. They include grants for a linear park, a handicap-accessible boardwalk, a main entrance sign along with grants for much needed housing repairs.

On August 21, 1992, a letter from the Director of the Office of Community Development was sent to the Chairman of the Cemetery Commission regarding an application for a grant from The Land & Water Conservation Fund. This grant was to develop a linear park around the perimeter of Brooks Pond in the Brooks Estate. The land in question falls under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Wetland Protection Act and is not suitable for cemetery use. However, the support of the Cemetery Trustees was vital if the grant application was to proceed.

Without explanation, the Cemetery Board of Trustees on September 2, 1992, rejected supporting the grant. Hence, without that support of the Cemetery Board of Trustees the grant application failed.

Recent efforts have been more successful. In April, 1994, a $10,000 grant was awarded from the federal government Department of Environmental Management. With matching funds from the City of Medford, a handicap-accessible boardwalk was erected near the Brooks Pond. Fishing and walking remain the most intensive uses of the Brooks Pond area and the boardwalk facilitates access while protecting the fragile shoreline Brooks Pond Management Report (Lincoln, Grossman, Davis, 1995).

In September 1994 a sign was designed and erected by the Brooks Estate Preservation Association at the Grove Street entrance. The sign was funded in a large part by the Medford Cultural Council. At the September 10th dedication, Shepherd Brooks' grandson reaffirmed his family's desire that the Brooks Estate be preserved forever for the benefit of Medford residents (Medford Transcript, 1994, September 14).

In December of 1995 the Brooks Estate Preservation Association committee assisted Medford's Office of Community Development in designing a further grant proposal under the federal government Department of Environmental Management's Lakes and Ponds Program. In March of 1996 the City of Medford was awarded this grant in the full amount of $10,000, which was matched by the City.

This new grant covers several projects: 1) creation of a 300- foot "living fence" of native trees to protect Brooks Pond from Cemetery debris; 2) pond-side re-vegetation and ecological restoration; 3) erection of a tasteful informational plaque near the boardwalk. The Brooks Estate Preservation Association has designed all aspects of the projects, using volunteer talents at no cost to the City of Medford. The projects are expected to be completed by Fall 1996 (Tom Lincoln, 1996).

From the bachelors thesis: Case Study of the Brooks Estate, by Linda M. Penta. American Studies Program, Leslie College