Updated April, 2009
Indian Line Farm, a 44-acre parcel of land within the Blue Hills Reservation, is a historic landscape with enormous cultural and natural value. Yet the open fields and woodlands of this parcel remain at particular risk of development.
The Farm is located across from the Bradley Estate, at the juncture of Routes 138 and 128, abutting the Ponkapoag Golf Course. It is within the state-designated Ponkapoag Area of Critical Environmental Concern (see fact sheet) and is currently owned by the Commonwealth. However, this fact does not guarantee that the land will not be sold and used for other purposes. A developer or corporation with enough resources to amass a two-thirds vote of the state legislature could get control over this public land. In early 2008, Friends of the Blue Hills learned that a Canton-based firm was considering developing it. Fortunately, in April 2008, the firm found a more feasible location.
To ensure that this land remains protected, FBH is facilitating a conversation among stakeholders to develop a vision for the former farm that does not include office buildings and parking lots. We will find out what uses the community would like to see for this land and encourage the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), the agency managing the Blue Hills Reservation, to plan for the future of Indian Line Farm in accordance with community consensus. In this way, we hope to avert future threats to develop the property, allowing it to remain available to the public as part of the priceless recreational resource that is the Blue Hills Reservation.
