Just over 50 residents came to the virtual meeting on new possible uses for the Brook Farm historical site in West Roxbury, adjacent to the Gardens at Gethsemane cemetery, at which the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is looking.

The plan reflects the beginnings of a lot of what the New Brook Farm advocates have been asking for, basically more recreation, invasive species management, an agricultural element, a new entrance and parking, increasing access to the walking trails on the site, and a look at refurbishing and using the long disused and technically uninhabitable (no heat or plumbing) print shop on the site.

The meeting reflected a lot of concern for the nearby Gardens of Gethsemane Cemetery, owned by Alan J. McKinnon for the last 30 odd years. Residents said they did not want to see impacts to the services provided by the cemetery – some 250 burial and remembrance services per year, according to the cemetery – for recreation uses.

Resident Susan Lyon said her parents and much of her family are buried at the site, and that she’s been going there since the 1960s.

“DCR has been fairly absent since taking over the property, and Alan, who’s in charge of the Gardens, has been taking very good care of this site,” she said.

Lyons said pedestrian access to the site is also problematic.

“I’m concerned about the compliance that DCR hasn’t taken care of and should be budgeted tomorrow for the sidewalks from the Gardens up Baker Street to the VFW Parkway,” she said. “I don’t know if you’ve walked it, but you should. It’s atrocious.”

“Both my parents are buried there in the Garden of Honor for veterans,” resident Elaine Meyer said. “I’ve been very close with Alan since my mom passed, and we would visit down there quite often. Alan and Eunice, I can’t say enough of them. But is this more of a plan to accommodate the public as opposed to what goes on at the cemetery every day? I know the trails are accessible from the driveway – I don’t use the trails but I know a lot of people do – I don’t know if this is more of a plan to accommodate the public rather than the existing cemetery that’s been there for over 100 years.”

“I have five generations of family members buried there,” said resident Jennifer Young Kass. “I have a real concern on a couple of things. One is that it doesn’t look like much interaction has happened with the Gardens, and they have some very important issues that they’re raising that don’t seem to have been addressed here. I’m hopeful that’s going to change, and you’re going to work with them to maximize the benefits to everybody and minimize the conflicts… We would not want to see any detrimental activity that would impact the mourning and services that happen at the Gardens.”

The site’s ownership is somewhat complicated, and has led to some issues with the Gardens, which technically owns a portion of land surrounded by the DCR land with an easement to the street for vehicle and utility access.

The Gardens at Gethsemane Cemetery stated that it has maintained and owned the site for more than 150 years. The whole site has a storied history going back to the socialist experiment of Brook Farm in the mid 19th century. The state took over most of the site in 1988 and left the Cemetery’s 21 acres out of the total 145 acres of the site.

There has been some contention between the Gardens and the State over how much land the state should be giving, eventually, to the Gardens as the original law stated that the cemetery would get 15 acres outright with an option for 15 more, should the state decide so – https://gvimes.link/brookfarmtaking

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The Gardens released two letters to the DCR and the public – https://gvimes.link/gardensbrook1– and – https://gvimes.link/gardensbrook2 – detailing the organization’s concerns with the current plan. The second letter stated that DCR has been “understating” the cemetery’s use and does not acknowledge that the cemetery is “owed” nine more acres of land due to the land taking back in the 80s.

DCR Director of Cultural Resources Wendy Pearl said that had been negotiated in 1986, when the taking actually, finally, took place, and that the final agreement was 21 acres out of the potential 30.

“There is no land owed,” she said.

Despite that, State Sen. Michael Rush and State Rep. Bill MacGregor have cosponsored legislation that made it to last year’s Ways and Means Committee hearings – https://gvimes.link/gardensbill – that if passed would allow the state to sell about 35 acres of the site to the Gardens Cemetery “for the cost of fair market value.”

The Gardens also stated that DCR has been “understating” the cemetery’s historic role in preserving the site since the state took over most of the property in 1986 for conservation and recreation.

Pearl said for DCR’s part, there will be no change to the cemetery land, and that most of the trails the department will be working on already exist.

“This park is already open to the public and we’re not really changing the access here, but rather making it safe and accessible to people who are coming here,” Pearl said. “The driveway, the office associated with the cemetery, and the cemetery land itself, there is no change being proposed for that. These trails already exist in most places, and where we’re talking about making improvements is for accessibility and safety.”

To see the full meeting recording and the current iteration of the plan, go to https://gvimes.link/brookdcr