Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Situated in Boston’s largest historic park, and a focal point of Frederick Law Olmsted's Emerald Necklace, the Franklin Park Zoo opened to the public on October 4, 1912. Olmsted's original plans for Franklin Park included a naturalistic zoological garden designed for native animals, as opposed to a more traditional zoo. The new zoo, however, represented a major departure from Olmsted's initial concept and included more exotic animals. With free public admission, Franklin Park Zoo quickly became a popular attraction, drawing an estimated two-million visitors in 1920. The 72-acre site was managed by the City of Boston up until 1958, when it was taken over by the state Metropolitan District Commission (MDC).
Stone Zoo, formerly known as the Middlesex Fells Zoo, is located on a 26-acre site near the Spot Pond reservoir in Stoneham. It was founded in 1905 by Charles Price, who served as Superintendent of the MDC's Middlesex Fells Reservation. At its inception, the zoo contained a small collection of local animals, which grew to include more exotic species. It was renamed in 1969 in honor of Walter D. Stone, a former Zoo Director. In 1991, the Commonwealth Zoological Corporation (CZC), later renamed to Zoo New England in 1997, was established to oversee both the Stone Zoo and Franklin Park Zoo.