In 1881, after the Lynn Water Department dammed a defunct millpond in Lynn Woods, a group of local recreationists formed a public trust to preserve the forest. The following year, the state legislature passed the Massachusetts Park Act, enabling any town in the Commonwealth to establish a park commission and acquire lands within its borders. Shortly thereafter, the Trustees of the Free Public Forest purchased parkland and hired Frederick Law Olmsted as a design consultant. Admiring Lynn Woods as a “real forest,” Charles Eliot hoped to incorporate the reservation into the Metropolitan Park System. This aerial view showcases the woods and ponds so admired by Eliot and the people of Lynn.
![Lynn, Mass [art original]](https://bpldcassets.blob.core.windows.net/derivatives/images/commonwealth:9s161g34q/image_thumbnail_300.jpg)
IIIF Manifest