Address: 259 Allendale St, Jamaica Plain-Mission Hill
2008 Status: Protected
2008 Condition: Intact
Site Size: 24.5 Acres
Click here for the Urban Wilds Glossary.
Description: The Lawrence Farm Urban Wild is a fragment of the former Brandegee Estate, which once extended into Brookline. The Wild includes the greenhouses, sales building and livestock pens of Allandale Farm, the last working farm in Boston. The remainder of Lawrence Farm Urban Wild is sloping woodland and old-field meadows. A number of agricultural fields, cultivated by Allandale Farm, are peppered into the surrounding landscape.
Current Use: Allandale Farm actively uses Lawrence Farm Urban Wild for agricultural and educational purposes. The forest areas provide habitat for birds, mammals, reptiles and insects and serve to reduce air and noise pollution. A historic right-of-way easement runs through the center of the Wild linking the Brandegee Estate Mansion with Allandale Road. The Boston Police Department maintains a stable and canine unit on the southern portion of the Wild.
Lawrence Farm abuts Daughter’s of Saint Paul Urban Wild to the north and Allandale Woods to the south. Combined with Showa Urban Wild the group of properties forms a contiguous swath of urban forest that supports local and migratory wildlife. The forest also provides pollution reduction and cooling functions. Because the forests in this area retain features of their former use they are valuable for educational programming.
History: Allandale Farm has been in operation by the same family, the Lawrence’s, for at least two centuries. Mrs. Brandegee’s Georgian Revival mansion and vestiges of her once famous Italianate gardens, built in 1901 still sit on the crest of the hill overlooking the planting fields. The Lawrence family began commercial farming in 1964. Allendale Farm is the last operating farm in Boston. Working with The Trustees of Reservations, the Lawrence family has protected one parcel of the Lawrence Farm Urban Wild under an Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR).
Ward: 09
Site ID: 09-12
Site Owner: Private owner with Agricultural Preservation Restriction by The Trustees of the Reservation
Access Points: Access along Allandale Road and from Allandale Farm.
Visitation Hours: No hours indicated
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The entrance road and allée leading into Lawrence Farm Urban Wild from Allendale Road.
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A view of the cattle pond and forested slope of the southern portion of the wild.
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