The files on this page relate both directly and indirectly to the history of Harold Parker State Forest. Obtained primarily from paper archives kindly provided by DCR, converted into electronic format by the Friends.——————————————————————————————————————————————
HISTORICAL MAPS / DESIGN BLUEPRINTS
These old maps from DCR's archives show the Park Service and Civilian Conservation Corps planning and activity through the 1920s and 1930s. Images link to high-resolution versions.
These photos digitized by Friends volunteers show the Civilian Conservation Corps working in Harold Parker throughout the 1930s. These can also be found in the UMass SCUA collections (Special Collections & University Archives).
Other documents and articles
Mostly from Bob Anderson's extensive collection over years of service in Harold Parker.
Obituary of Harold Parker (PDF)
Excerpted from the third annual Massachusetts State Forest Commission report, 1916
Massachusetts CCC Resource Survey (PDF)
This is part of a much larger document, readable here (and a slightly better scan)
Past to Present: a short history document (PDF)
Green Relief: HPSF at the forefront of the New Deal (PDF)
Incident at the CCC dynamite storage
North Shore Nature’s Harold Parker history page (external link)
2013 RMP Map
This map was created by the DCR planning unit in 2013 as part of the Resource Management Plan for Harold Parker and Boxford State Forests. (Original source here)
Fifty Years a Forester: Book by Harold O. Cook (not Parker!), electronic version, from 1961. Jumps straight to Chapter 6 where Harold Parker is mentioned
A brief HPSF CCC History preliminary draft, 2004
Park Interpretive Profile excerpt, from 2013. A guide to HPSF history and features aimed at park rangers and interpreters (PDF)
Bob Anderson’s retirement party and historical perspective video from 2014. 1 hour and 28 minutes, ~870 Mb, and a wealth of information. (External link)
Andy Sherman’s 2024 presentation about Harold Parker history (Youtube, 01:23:18)
Plus a downloadable subset of his slides (PDF)
Indirectly related to Harold Parker State Forest and region
Bessie Goldsmith, an Andover resident and historian, wrote many essays and articles over time about the area and its points of interest. In 1964 a collection of these was published as a small book, “The Townswoman’s Andover”. Here are a couple of Harold Parker related items from it (all PDF):
The William Jenkins House (1928)
The Blue Soapstone Quarry (1932)
More history and facts on the Jenkins house from the Andover preservation commission (external link)
Some images from the soapstone quarry and nearby area today (click to view larger)
Excerpts from an archaeological study (PDF) around the Woodbridge / Jenkins family cemetery area, prior to a housing development being built. The cemetery was preserved, and is accessible from Douglass Lane.