On Thursday, April 30th @ 6pm – 7:30 pm, the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will hold its next public meeting to discuss “conceptual design” plans for the Brook Farm Historic Site. DCR will use the conceptual design to guide the future of this property. Public input and comments are critical.

New Brook Farm (NBF), a West-Roxbury-based non-profit, wants to put the “Farm” back in Brook Farm, and professionally operate a community farm, raising fresh vegetables for Rose’s Bounty and other food pantries to address food insecurity in southwest Boston. NBF believes that a community farm can also help tell Brook Farm’s story, deepening the appreciation of its history and contributions to American culture. We urge the West Roxbury community to attend, learn what DCR has in mind, and (we hope!) express their support, as many already have, for a new, professionally run community farm.

TO REGISTER: Residents should register for Thursday night’s meeting by visiting the DCR website: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-conservation-recreation (scroll down to “Upcoming Public Meetings/Hearings”). For assistance, email Mass.Parks@mass.gov or call 617-626-4973.

Comments can also be submitted to DCR by May 14, through the agency’s public comment portal: https://www.mass.gov/forms/dcr-public-comments

* HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL: Brook Farm was the site of an experimental Transcendentalist utopian community from 1841 to 1847 that sought to reconcile everyday labor with intellectual and artistic pursuits. With more than 100 residents at its height, Brook Farm provided equal roles for women and men. It was a seminal influence on American cultural, intellectual, political, and social movements of the 19th century, including abolitionism, women's suffrage, education, literature, music, and religion. After the Brook Farm community closed, the site became the Roxbury almshouse, then a Civil War training ground, and later a Lutheran orphanage and cemetery (with The Gardens Cemetery continuing this latter use today). The Brook Farm site has been designated a National, State, and City of Boston Historic Landmark. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts acquired 148 acres of the sitein 1988.

Thank you for your support to put the "Farm" back in Brook Farm!

Paul Horn/on behalf of New Brook Farm, Inc. Board of Directors (David Blumenthal; Larry Costello; Kathy McCabe; Jessica Mink; Ray Porfilio; Bill Tuttle; Karin Tuttle)

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Paul Horn

West Roxbury