Property History
Ravenswood contains many relics of Cape Ann history, from Native American hunting mounds and artifacts, to rock walls and cellar holes built by early settlers, to the part Old Salem Road that is now a park trail. Samuel E. Sawyer, a wealthy merchant who summered here, preserved this land. In 1889, Sawyer’s will created Ravenswood Park as a property “laid out handsomely with drive-ways and pleasant rural walks.” (He named the park after the castle in Sir Walter Scott’s The Bride of Lammermoor.) After 104 years of dedicated management, they transferred the property to The Trustees of Reservations in 1993.
Mason A. Walton also shaped this place. He built a cabin here in 1884 and studied the area’s flora and fauna. He wrote several books, including “A Hermit’s Wild Friends,” and visitors came to hear him talk about nature. Look for the plaque that marks the spot in the woods where Walton built his cabin.
Property Acquisition History
Gift, with endowment, of The Trustees of Ravenswood Park in 1993. Additional endowment given through bequest of Edward Hyde Cox in 1998, and gifts of Dorothy Addams Brown.
Archival Collections
Archival material related to Ravenswood Park is available to researchers at the Archives & Research Center in Sharon, Massachusetts.
The Trustees of Ravenswood Park Archive
(3.0 linear feet)
Records of the trustees who managed Ravenswood Park from 1895 to 1993, when the park was given to The Trustees of Reservations.