US-MA-Weston+College+Land


 * =Birding in Massachusetts=

Middlesex County
=Weston College Land= Weston, Massachusetts 02493 Weston College Land webpage Weston College Land map

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Weston College Land
Coordinates: 42.3820698, -71.3149381 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

About Weston College Land
In 1977, the Town bought 146 acres of land from Weston College. Until this transaction, all conservation lands were bought with funds furnished from Weston taxes. In this single case, some funds were obtained from Massachusetts Self-Help Program. This land, commonly referred to as the Weston College Land, lies to the east of the present Campion  Residence and Renewal Center. At the western boundary, the Town has constructed two soccer fields. The northern boundary lies along the line of Cherry Brook, the eastern is Merriam Street, and the southern is Concord Road.

In 1921, this area was occupied by two estates which were purchased by the Society of Jesus. The Jesuits built Weston College, a seminary for the training of priests. From 1924 until 1978, as many as 200 seminarians were involved in the seven year program. In 1978, the seminary program moved to the Harvard School of Theology and became the Weston School of Theology. The former Weston College became the Campion Center with a Jesuit Infirmary for retired priests and a Retreat House for interested persons. The Chapel at the Campion Center is known for its excellent acoustics and is used for recording both orchestral and vocal music.

North of the Campion Center is the Weston Observatory, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Boston College. The Observatory was founded in 1930 by Michael Ahern, S.J. Its research programs have continued under the able direction of Daniel J. Linehan, S.J., then of  James W. Skehan, S.J., and, at present, of Dr. John Ebel. The Observatory operates the 29-station New England Seismic Network to monitor regional earthquake activity. The Observatory records, locates, and computes the magnitudes of some 50+ regional earthquakes annually. At the Observatory, the seismographs are a part of the Worldwide Standard Seismographic Network. These seismographs record over 100 significant earthquakes over the world each year. The Observatory participated in the Joint Verification Experiment to develop methods to distinguish between nuclear explosions, small explosions, and earthquakes. This research was important to assure that verification of nuclear explosions was possible and lead to the 1988 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The staff has been actively involved in regional geological and plate tectonic studies of our region. There is an interesting display of rocks in front of the Observatory. If you contact the Observatory and a staff member is free, a tour of the Museum can be arranged which includes a viewing of the seismographic array.

The brick house at 319 Concord Road, now a part of the Campion Center, was built in 1906 for Grant Walker, a Boston businessman and investor, after the original wood house on the site burned down. The estate included 131 acres. A year after Mr. Walker's death, his widow sold the estate to the Society of Jesus and moved to Lincoln.

Merriam Street is named after Herbert Merriam. Herbert was a son of Charles Merriam who came to Weston in 1824 and operated a store across from the First Parish Church. Charles was a selectman in 1835, gave gifts to the library in 1859 and 1865 and, in 1865, established the "Merriam Fund for the Benefit of the Silent Poor of Weston." Herbert Merriam, a Boston businessman, built his estate at the corner of Concord Road and Merriam Street. His land extended on both sides of the two roads and to "College Pond" and was about 230 acres. East of Merriam Street were a horse barn and chicken houses. Along the road to the brush dump was a dairy barn that is said to have been "one of the largest in Middlesex Country." This barn was built in 1876 and burnt down on October 30, 1926. No animals were lost in the fire. Pictures of the barn can be found in the Weston Historical Society Bulletin, Vol. XVII, No 1 (October 1980) and No. 2 (January 1981). A dairy herd was housed in the big barn. The horse barn was on the east side of Merriam Street on the Municipal Purposes Land.

PARKING: There are two parking areas along Concord Road. Starting from the junction of Concord Road and Merriam Street:

From Weston College Land webpage



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