A Walk Through the Parklands                           The Rustic Bridge to Freedom Street   Since there are no fireplaces on the west side of Hopedale Pond, this section will be covered in just one page.    In 1900, a wooden structure named Rawson's Bridge was constructed to cross the upper end of the pond. It was replaced in 1928 with what became known as the Rustic Bridge. The road from the bridge to Freedom Street was built in 1907.    A short distance west of the bridge, there's a path that more-or-less follows the river upstream. Within a few hundred yards, it leads to a large rock at the water's edge. At one time, this was Hopedale's "old swimming hole." Bathing suits optional. The trail turns to the west and eventually heads south, back to the main road. This path was added in 1914. There's a very large rock alongside one of the path's branches, and it was named "Texas." An early town report has a picture of it, and that name is in the caption.    There's another path just a little west of the Rustic. This one heads south, to the waters edge. It's not nearly as long as the one that heads north.    Park, Pond and Sports Menu      Tom Lipsky's Parkand Memories        HOME

The picture above shows the rock named Texas. It's not on the main road. To find it, take the path that begins on the west side of the Rustic Bridge. The one that heads north. You'll have to follow it for about a quarter mile before you come to Texas. By 1912, there were six miles of roads and paths in the Parklands. The path to Texas was built in 1914. I didn't know it had a name until a saw a picture of it with the name in the caption in the 1914 town report.

Shortly after the road turns south along the west side of the pond, there's a road that goes off to the right. (It heads to the top of this picture.) You can follow this up to the G&U Railroad tracks. From there, you might want to try to find your way to the top of the hill, west of the tracks, and take a look at the Lookout.

A scenic spot on the west side of the pond.         Back to first page of Parklands walk.