Brook Farm Historic Site
Overview
This National Historic Landmark is a diverse mix of terraces and knolls covered by fields, forest, and a cemetery whose adjacent marsh and wetlands include a small brook on the south and the Charles River on the west. Once farmland, trails now lead through a mix of wetlands, meadows, fields, and woodland.
Size: 179 acres    Longest Walk: 2 miles    Acquired: 1988
A Bike Loop Around the Charles in Needham, Dedham, Boston, and Newton
Charles River to Newton Centre
The Charles River in South Newton and Boston: Blue Heron Trail to Millennium Park
Maps
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Scan this code using the camera or QR code app on your smartphone for quick access to maps and other information on the property.
Located in the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston
Get here by MBTA: Route 52 Directions from Green Line
Other maps and aerial photos: Bing Maps bird’s-eye view
Connects to:
GPS Enabled Trail Map
To see your location, press the location icon while viewing the map on your smartphone. If the blue location dot doesn’t appear when you open the map, come back to this page and click here.
Owner & Administrator Websites
Photo Gallery
First three photos shown here. Click a photo to view the complete slideshow or click here to browse the complete gallery.
History
This is the site of the 1840s Brook Farm experimental commune of Transcendentalists including Hawthorne, Dana, Greeley, Ripley, Margaret Fuller, and others. It was used briefly in the 1850s as a poor farm and in 1861 for training at Camp Andrew during the Civil War. A Lutheran orphanage occupied the farm from 1872 through 1943, with a treatment center on site from 1948 through 1974. Gethsemane Cemetery was established in 1873. Land was going to be developed into high-rises, before the state took over in 1988.
Features
Biking, Charles River Walk, Cross Country Skiing, Historic Site, Vernal Pool, Woods Trail
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Additional Information
Newton Assessor’s Map ID: [not in Newton]
General Information:
DCR website and brochure for the park Brook Farm in Wikipedia Birding reports A blogger visits Brook Farm The Gardens at Gethsemane cemetery is adjacent to Brook Farm. The trail along the river is part of the Blue Heron Trail
History:
The story of Brook Farm as reported on Mass Moments, from the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1852 novel, The Blithedale Romance, is set in a utopian community and was written after he lived at Brook Farm. Brook Farm: The Dark Side of Utopia, a history of Brook Farm by Sterling Delano, was published in 2004. A Season in Utopia is an earlier book about Brook Farm. My Friends at Brook Farm by John Van Der Zee Sears is published online by Project Gutenberg.
A letter about the history of the land, and the Shaw family. Historic Newton highlights Brook Farm’s transcendentalist roots Newton Tab, July 5, 2017
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