      
 | Property Description | 10 acres | Established 1898 | Governor Thomas Hutchinson was the last Royal Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Born in Boston in 1711 and educated at Harvard, he was a prominent conservative, powerful and devoutly loyal to the British Crown. His over royalist leanings made him the object of public ridicule in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War. He found himself at great odds with the radical revolutionaries (soon to be patriots) of the day, namely Samuel Adams who, with others, mockingly dubbed him "Tommy Skin-and-Bones" Hutchinson presumably because of his gaunt appearance. In 1743, he built for his family a modest country estate on Milton Hill to escape the city. Hutchinson commissioned Sir Francis Bernard to design his house and gardens. All that remains of the estate today is the field and a "ha-ha" which formed the western boundary of the formal garden; located next to St. Michael's Church on Randolph Street in Milton, the "ha-ha" is now on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1774, shortly after the Boston Tea Party, Governor Hutchinson went into exile in England where he died in 1780. Following his departure from Massachusetts, his property and effects were sold at auction. Today his writing desk can be seen at the Milton Public Library. The house was later owned by James Warren whose wife was Mercy Otis Warren, a brave polemist whose satiric sketches and accounts of the Revolutionary War were circulated throughout the colonies. The house was razed in 1946. This hilltop meadow offers views of the Neponset river, its tidal salt marshes, the Boston skyline, and the Boston Harbor Islands. Governor Hutchinson's Field is located next to The Trustees' Pierce Reservation, a 4-acre parcel of grassy slopes that run down to the tidal salt marshes that border the Neponset River. To access Pierce Reservation, walk down the hill of open fields and bear right. The Pierce Reservation sits behind a private residence at 224 Adams Street; please respect the privacy of our neighbor. |
| | Trails | | A quarter-mile trail runs along the embankment of the Neponset River. Easy walking. |
| | Property Acquisition History | | Original acreage a gift of John M. Forbes and Mrs. Mary F. Cunningham in 1898. Additional land purchased in 1898. Endowment given by Mrs. Cunningham in 1898 and by Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust in 1983. |
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Telephone:
781-784-0567 E-mail:
seregion@ttor.org When to Visit:
Year-round, daily, sunrise to sunset. Allow a minimum of one half hour. Admission Fees & Permits:
Free to all. How to Get There:
From I-93/Route 3 south, take exit 10 and proceed for 0.2 mi. At stop sign, turn right onto Adams Street and follow for 1.2 mi. to top of Milton Hill; entrance is on the right. From Dorchester, take Dorchester Avenue to Adams Street and follow up Milton Hill; entrance is on the left. From I-93/Route 3 north, take exit 9 and follow Granite Avenue north for 1.5 mi. through two sets of traffic lights. Turn left and drive over expressway bridge to stop sign. Turn right onto Adams Street and follow for 1.2 mi. to top of Milton Hill; entrance is on the right. There is no designated parking area and road-side parking is not permitted. Road Map:
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