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Both the public and private parks in town contribute to the supply of recreational
facilities and contain reminders of Milford's rich history. Milford's publicly- and
privately-owned recreation lands and facilities are described in more detail below.You can also visit
the Web page of the Recreation Department.
PUBLICLY-OWNED
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1. Keyes Memorial Park: Approximately 19 acres in size, this park is located on Elm Street and abuts the Souhegan River. It serves primarily as an athletic field. Facilities
include a swimming pool, a wading pool, four tennis counts, a softball field, a
baseball field, a general purpose field, a playground, and open space. Once a farm
owned by Josiah Crosby, the land was sold to the Arthur L. Keyes Memorial
Trust in 1957 and then given by the Trust to the Milford School District.
Eventually, the School District gave the Keyes Park property to the Town of
Milford in exchange for the Town's Endicott Park which abutted Bales School.
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2. Shepard's Park: Located on the east side of Nashua Street between Shepard and Linden
streets, this park is mainly an athletic area. It has a Little League baseball field
(built by the Rotary and dedicated as the Hugo Trentini Memorial Park in June,
1961), a baseball practice field, and a playground. It is also the site of the Scout
House, managed by the American Legion for use by the Boy Scouts of America
and Cub Scouts of Troop 4. The open land beside the park is used for the annual
Labor Day Parade turn-around and Carnival. Most of this land was donated to the
town in 1898 as a site for a school and playground. With the bequeath of an
additional piece of land in 1899 by Andrew Shepard adjacent to the original
parcel, a public park was created. The park was named, at the donor's request,
after his great grandfather, John Shepard, who in 1791 built Milford's first
sawmill and gristmill.
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3. Emerson Park: This park located between the Souhegan River and the US Post Office is about one and one-half acres in size. Emerson Park is lit at night and has easy
handicapped access. It contains park benches, a stone wall, a permanent sandbox
for children, and an old millstone as a "table", a gift form the late Theodore
Langdell. The undeveloped land was given to the town at the 1947 Town
Meeting by Charles S. Emerson as a gift from his brother, the late Harry Emerson.
In 1969, with a $1,000 gift from the children of the late Charles Emerson, creation
of the park began.
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4. Bicentennial Park: About three acres in size, this park abuts Railroad Pond on the west side
of south Street. Bicentennial Park provides excellent access for fishing and
boating (canoes and rowboats). Ducks, Canada Geese, Great Blue Herons, and
Green Herons are abundant in this area and can be seen from the park. This land,
the Cora M. Woodward property, was purchased through the Conservation
Commission in 1973. The old house on the property was burned by the Fire
Department, and the restoration process began. The flagpole was donated by the
American legion, the VFW Post and Auxiliary, and the Knights of Columbus, and the original park benches were donated by the Rotary Club. Two new benches were purchased by the Conservation Commission and installed by DPW in the spring of 2000.
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5. Milford Oval: This small, triangular property is located in the midst of the endlessly
whirling, downtown traffic. It offers trees and benches for pedestrians. The land
was donated to the town, then known as the Southwest Parish, in 1788.
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6. World War II Memorial Park: On the southern side of the Union Square area adjacent to
Railroad Pond, this small park was once the site of a blacksmith shop. In 1947,
Mr. and Mrs. James Howison presented the land to the town to be used as WWII
memorial. Thirteen arborvitae trees commemorate the lives of the thirteen men
from Milford killed in the war and form a background for a fountain.
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7. Burn's Rock: Located on the old Brookline Road, this historic site is named for one of
Milford's first settlers. In 1959, the Association of the Descendants of John Burns
donated Burn's rock, the land on which it rests, and a right-of-way to the highway
to the Milford Historical Society. Two inscribed boulders mark the entrance of
the pine tree-lined site. The bronze tablet set in the boulder was dedicated in
1923.
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8. Hartshorn Pond Park: Hartshorn Pond and the land around it were given to the Town of
Milford by Harold Wilkins, Jr. of Amherst. The Town-owned land borders the
entire pond except for a small piece at the northern end. Deed conditions provide
that the lake shall not be stocked with fish and that "no digging, destruction,
cutting or transplanting of trees, shrubs or plants or other silvicultural or forest
management practices" be allowed "except under the auspices of or the consent of
[the] Milford Conservation Commission and then only insofar as necessary to
undertake proper silvicultural and conservation management practices . . ." Mr.
Wilkins reserves the right to timber the premises. The park has two granite picnic
tables/benches and two wood/concrete park benches. The Department of Public
Works keeps the grass at the site cut.
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9. Hazel Adams Burn's Memorial Park: Located on Osgood Road at the site of the Osgood
Pond Dam, it contains approximately three quarters of an acre of lawn with a
small parking area. The land was purchased by the Town of Milford from
Maurice Babine in 1952. As part of the major dam repairs in 1988 the area was
landscaped. In 1992 it was dedicated to the memory of Hazel Adams Burns, wife
of Harlan Burns Jr. And named in her honor. Further landscaping includes
Crabapple trees, hardy rose bushes and park benches. This much used property
provides good fishing in Osgood Pond, through which runs Great Brook. Harlan
Burns Jr., whose farm lies upstream on Great Brook, holds the flowage rights to
the dam. The park is maintained by the Department of Public Works.
In 1995 a six acre parcel, bordering Osgood Pond on the north shore, was added to this park. A practice field and additional parking area were developed on this property. The new piece is seperated from the original park by a private house lot, please respect the owners privacy.[back to map]
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10. Milford Community Athletic Association (MCAA) Fields: Once owned by the Milford
Hospital Association, this land was donated to the Town of Milford in 1993 by
the association. These heavily-used fields were developed by the MCAA to
supplement the inadequate supply of town-owned recreation lands. The fields are
maintained by the Department of Public Works. The activities are organized by
the Milford Community Athletic Association. Facilities include two official Little
League baseball fields, one regulation Babe Ruth baseball field, two regulation
size soccer fields, and one non-regulation size soccer field.
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11. School Facilities: The high school has fields for soccer, football and softball which are
available for public use when not needed for school related activities.
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PRIVATELY-OWNED
1. Hampshire Hills Sport and Fitness Club: This private club is located on Emerson Road.
Facilities include 11 tennis courts, five racquetball courts, two squash courts, a
basketball court, two indoor and one outdoor swimming pool, exercise equipment,
and an indoor jogging track.
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2. Granite Body Fitness: Located in the Edgewood Shopping Plaza on Nashua Street, this health
club offers Nautilus equipment, free weights, and aerobic exercise and Taekwon
Do facilities.
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3. Community House: This facility is frequently used as a meeting place by the Quilter's Club,
Women's Club, Seniors Group, Farm Bureau, Alcoholics Anonymous and other
community groups.
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4. Community House Tennis Courts: These tennis courts are owned and operated by the
Livermore Society and, with permission of Community House personnel, may be
used by the public.
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5. Beaver Brook's Burns-Holland Farm: Beaver Brook Association of Hollis owns a large tract of
wildlife habitat at the intersection of Mason and Burns Roads. Information on
events held on this property is available at the main facility in Hollis. There are
hiking trails on this tract open to the public.
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In addition to the aforementioned parks and recreation facilities, Milford has a considerable
number of sites that are particularly well-suited for fishing, canoeing, and picnicking.
Appropriate measures should be taken to ensure that these informal recreation sites remain
available for public use.
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Copyright © 2001 Milford Conservation Commission
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