Boston’s Famous 1,100-Acre Park Chain Used to Be Stinky Marshland – Here’s the Story

Boston’s Emerald Necklace

Frederick Law Olmsted created this amazing string of parks between 1878 and 1896, connecting neighborhoods from Dorchester to Brookline.

The seven-mile chain includes six different parks: the Back Bay Fens, the Riverway, Olmsted Park, Jamaica Pond, Arnold Arboretum, and Franklin Park. The name comes from how the parks form a necklace shape on a map, though Olmsted first called it the “Emerald Chain” in his 1878 plans.

Here are some interesting facts about this gem.

The Muddy River Used to Smell Really Bad

In the 1870s, more than 100 sewage pipes dumped waste directly into the Muddy River. The smell was so terrible that people living on Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue had to keep their windows closed all summer long.

Olmsted spent 20 years and $4 million (worth about $120 million today) fixing this problem. He built a 3.5-mile drainage system and planted 15,000 special water-cleaning plants along curved pathways.

This turned the river, once known as “Boston’s Big Stink,” into the beautiful Riverway we enjoy today.

The Necklace Contains North America’s Oldest Public Arboretum

The Arnold Arboretum opened in 1872 and covers 281 acres of land. Harvard University and Boston made an unusual deal in 1882: they signed a 1,000-year lease where Harvard would run the arboretum while Boston would own the land and keep it free for everyone.

As of 2024, the arboretum has over 15,000 plants, including the original European Beech tree from 1876 and rare Dawn Redwoods that almost went extinct. Scientists use a special computer system called BG-Base to track every single plant in the collection, making it one of the world’s best-documented gardens.

Franklin Park Once Had a Zoo and a Golf Course

Franklin Park, which covers 527 acres, was once home to both a zoo and an 18-hole golf course. The zoo started small in 1891 with just a few deer, but by 1920 it had grown to include three elephants, four lions, and two Himalayan bears.

The golf course, designed by famous architect Donald Ross, opened in 1896 and even hosted the 1925 Massachusetts Amateur Championship.

While the zoo moved to a new 72-acre spot in 1958, you can still find the old bear dens and elephant house foundations near Hagborne Hill.

Jamaica Pond Is Actually a Glacier-Made Lake

Jamaica Pond isn’t really a pond at all – it’s a 68-foot-deep lake that was carved out by glaciers 12,000 years ago.

The lake covers 68 acres and used to be Boston’s main source of ice in the 1800s. The Jamaica Plain Ice Company cut out 22-inch-thick ice blocks during January and February, storing them in three huge icehouses by the water.

They shipped over 5,000 tons of ice each year, some going as far as India and the Caribbean. Today, instead of ice harvesting, you’ll find the Jamaica Pond Sailing Club there, along with plenty of largemouth bass, yellow perch, and rainbow trout.

The Back Bay Fens Changed the Course of American Landscape Architecture

Olmsted’s team transformed 115 acres of salty marshland into an innovative park that could handle millions of gallons of storm water.

They installed seven miles of underground pipes and planted 100,000 trees and shrubs that naturally grow in New England salt marshes. This 1878 project was the first time anyone in America tried to restore a salt marsh.

The design was so creative that other cities copied it for their own parks, including Chicago’s Jackson Park and Montreal’s Mount Royal Park. The curved paths and natural-looking water features changed how people thought parks should look.

The World’s First Victory Gardens Were Planted Here

In 1942, the Fenway Victory Gardens turned seven acres of parkland into 500 small gardens to help feed people during World War II. These gardens produced an impressive 2.3 million pounds of vegetables for Boston families.

Today, all 500 garden plots are still being used, making them America’s oldest Victory Gardens still in operation. The Fenway Garden Society manages these 15-by-25-foot plots, where people grow everything from old-fashioned tomatoes to rare orchids in this historic space.

Olmsted Never Saw His Vision Fully Realized

In 1895, Olmsted had to retire because he was developing dementia. He spent his final years as a patient at McLean Hospital in Belmont – ironically, a place whose grounds he had designed in 1875.

His original plans included features we never got to see: a grand waterfall in the Fens, three miles of horse riding paths connecting all the parks, and several footbridges over major roads.

His sons, John Charles and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., finished what they could of the park system by 1902.

The Parks Harbor a Secret Underground Network

Hidden beneath the parks is a 12-mile network of waterways, including the Muddy River Conduit from 1882.

This underground system can handle 75 million gallons of water during big storms, protecting nearby neighborhoods from flooding. The network includes 157 access points and 25 major tunnels, plus clever water-control gates that work automatically.

When engineers studied the system in 2015, they were amazed to find that Olmsted’s team had planned for city growth that wouldn’t happen until the 1950s.

The Rose Garden Was Added by Accident

The James P. Kelleher Rose Garden started with a $50,000 gift in 1931. What began as a simple memorial garden grew into a beautiful space with 1,500 roses from 122 different types.

The circular garden includes special roses like the ‘Peace’ rose from 1945 and the ‘Julia Child’ rose added in 2004.

While Olmsted didn’t plan for this garden, it’s now one of the park’s most popular spots, attracting 50,000 visitors each year and hosting many weddings.

Time Capsules Are Hidden Throughout the Parks

Seven known time capsules are buried in the Emerald Necklace, with the biggest one placed during Boston’s 200th birthday celebration on July 4, 1975.

These capsules contain old newspapers, photos, and letters from important Boston residents. In 2018, workers found an eighth capsule near Jamaica Pond while doing repairs.

It contained treasures from 1892, including some of Olmsted’s original drawings. The next capsule opening is scheduled for 2075, when the park system turns 200 years old.

The Necklace Features Ancient Native American Trails

In 1983, scientists found 27 paths in the parks that follow old Massachusett and Wampanoag trading routes.

Tests on artifacts found along these trails show that people have been using them since 2500 BCE. Olmsted kept these historic paths when designing Jamaica Pond and Franklin Park’s Valley Gates area.

When you walk these trails today, you’re following the same routes that Native Americans used for hunting, trading, and traveling between seasonal camps for more than 4,000 years.