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Per Massachusetts St 1892, c 342 (June 2, 1892), a Preliminary Board of a Metropolitan Park Commission was established for one year. It was authorized to consider the advisability of laying out ample open spaces for the use of the public, in the towns and cities in the vicinity of Boston. The members of the board were appointed in July 1892, and it was organized that August. Sylvester Baxter (1850-1927) was appointed Secretary. The other members of the board included Charles Francis Adams (1835-1915), Chairman; William B. de las Casas (1857-1930); and Philip A. Chase (1834-1903); also Charles Eliot (1859-1897), its landscape architect consultant. The board issued its report in Jan. 1893 as H 150. Per St 1893, c 407 (June 3, 1893), the Metropolitan Park Commission was established. The board's secretary compiled and maintained newspaper scrapbooks. Series includes two volumes of newspaper scrapbooks that hold clippings from 83 newspapers (75 in Massachusetts); three journals (including Garden and Forest); legislative documents from the Massachusetts General Court; and a document from the Committee of the Citizens of Watertown for the Improvement of Charles River. Clippings document the work of the Preliminary Board, including the tours of its Board members and others visiting the proposed public open spaces and reservations, and advocating for the same through a state-managed parks agency. The legislative process, including public hearings, is also documented. Related documents: Preliminary Board minutes, 1892-1893 (EN4.10/2787X); Preliminary Board incoming correspondence to the Secretary, 1892-1893 (in process); Founder/commissioner portrait photographs (EN4.10/2791X). Also: Report, Jan. 1893 (1893 H 150) available at: https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/628075
1891-1893
