Sara Wilbur Collection of Heywood Meadow Stewardship Committee Records, 1961-2005 (bulk 1996-2005)

Vault A5, Unit A21

 

EXTENT: 1 container.

ORGANIZATION: Organized in three series: Series I. General Committee records (meeting minutes, agendas and notes; correspondence), 2000-2005. Series II. Materials related to the DEM Preservation Grant application, 1987-2002 (bulk 2001). Series III. Misc. material related to the conservation of Heywood Meadow, 1961-1998 (bulk 1996-1998). Records arranged chronologically.

HISTORY: The Heywood Meadow Stewardship Committee of Concord Massachusetts, appointed by the Concord Natural Resources Commission in July 2000, was charged with the rehabilitation of Heywood Meadow and its long-term stewardship. The goal of committee members, including Sara (Win) Wilbur, was to restore the property to reflect its historic and agricultural past, from its early settlement in 1635 through Concord’s literary renaissance in the late 1800s. From 2000 to 2005, the committee’s efforts resulted in the removal of nonconforming structures, the planting of heirloom apple trees, field restoration and the relocation of the Clapper stone to the site. In 2001, the committee applied for the Department of Environmental Management Historic Landscape Preservation Grant, but their proposal was not selected for funding.

Before the entirety of Heywood Meadow was put into conservation, and its upkeep given to the Heywood Meadow Stewardship Committee, there were attempts to develop the property. Most recently in 1995, when a proposal to build a visitor center on Lot 3 was presented to the town. Many residents protested the loss of open space, and two alternate locations were suggested: the corner of Milldam and Monument Square, and the municipal parking lot on Keyes Road. Ultimately, the visitor center was built next to the Middlesex Savings Bank in 2002, and Heywood Meadow was preserved without development.

SCOPE AND CONTENT: Records, 1961-2005 (bulk 1996-2005) include: I. Typed and handwritten Heywood Meadow Stewardship Committee meeting minutes, agendas and notes, 2000-2005 [with gaps]; correspondence regarding the rehabilitation project. II. Materials generated by the committee for the 2002 DEM Historic Landscape Preservation Grant application, 1987-2002 (bulk 2001), including procedure forms and completed application, 2001. III. Miscellaneous materials relating to the history and conservation of Heywood Meadow, including letters, newspaper clippings and other documents protesting the potential development of the site as a visitor center, 1961-1998 (bulk 1996-1998). The series also contains reports evaluating the potential development of a visitor center on Keyes Road, or the corner of Milldam and Monument Square, [1996-1997].

ASSOCIATED MATERIALS: The Concord Free Public Library holds additional material relating to Heywood Meadow in the Grassroots for Heywood Meadow Committee Records, 1967-1986 (bulk 1969).

PROCESSED BY: Rebecca Enman, April 2012.

CONTANER LIST

Series I. General Committee records (meeting minutes, agendas and notes; correspondence), 2000-2005.

Folder 1:
Meeting minutes, 2000-2002 [with gaps]

Folder 2:
Meeting minutes, 2003-2005 [with gaps]

Folder 3:
Correspondence, 2000-2005

Folder 4:
Series Series II.  Material related to the DEM Preservation Grant application, 1987-2002 (bulk 2002)
Completed grant application, drafts, and supporting materials; Massachusetts Historic Landscape Preservation Grant Program Round V guidelines, instructions and forms, 2001; letter from the DEM, 2001.

Folder 5:
Series Series III. Misc. material related to the conservation of Heywood Meadow, 1961-1997 (bulk 1996-1998)
Massachusetts Historical Commission inventory form, 1994 (photocopy) and explanation; correspondence and newspaper clippings, 1996-1998; articles for 1997 Town Meeting and explanation; sketch of Heywood Meadow, undated; evaluation of Heywood Meadow, Keyes Road, and Milldam/ Monument Square, undated.

c2012 Concord Free Public Library, Concord, Mass.
Not to be reproduced in any form without permission of the Curator of the William Munroe Special Collections, Concord Free Public Library.

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Mounted 11 April 2012.    rcwh.