THE PAST
The history of the property now known as Fishersfield Park is interwoven with the history of the town of Newbury itself. Newbury was originally chartered in 1753 as Dantzig following King Philip’s War. A rugged and remote territory, the land was just slowly opening up to the most hardy of settlers. In fact, the Newbury had several charters that failed from 1753 to 1772. Records suggest that difficulty in securing roads and establishing tillable land were at the heart of the failed charters.
In 1754, the Dantzig charter failed. A new group of settlers requested a charter and named the land Hereford. In 1768, grantees for the Hereford charter declared their inability to comply with charter requirements. In 1771, two men – James Minot and Captain John Fisher – contested for the charter of Hereford. Fisher’s application was successful and in 1772 was conditionally granted the charter. Fisher successfully met the conditions for charter and in 1778, Hereford was incorporated by the State of New Hampshire as Fishersfield, the third name for the town in its then short and illustrious life.
The name Newbury was incorporated in 1837. The name derived from the number of settlers transplanted from Newbury, Massachusetts.
The land parcels and settlements Fisher created are defined in the survey map of 1775 by Zephania Clark. In 1809 Allen Willey surveyed the town and published a revision of the Clark map titled "A Plan for the Town of Fishersfield". It is on this map that the present distinctive land boundaries of the Fishersfield Park site first appear. The lot, occupying 129 acres on both sides of the old road now known as Old Post Road, is shown to belong to Charles Colburn. Colburn, born in 1762, was a veteran of the Revolutionary War having served in 1779 with Major General Nathaniel Greene in Rhode Island. The land was used primarily for sheep farming.
Throughout most of the 1800's the parcel of land on the east side of Old Post Rd that makes up Fishersfield Park remained in the Colburn family. With the exception of about 30 acres of land that now lie on the other side of Old Post Road (where the Town Recycling Center now resides), the boundaries remain pretty much the same today. It is interesting to note the unusual boundary lines relative to the more traditional rectangles surrounding it. Some of the original stone foundations and almost all of the original stone walls that were in existence when the Coburn's owned the land can be seen today.
While the land changed hands numerous times between 1809 and 1998, the land retained its lineage back to John Fisher. A subdivision map of the property dated 1979 drawn for Dan and Beverly Schydlowski refers to the property as "Old Fishersfield Estates". This marked the first modern survey of the Colburn farm property.
In the mid 1990’s, the Schydlowskis were laying out plans to subdivide the property for a 27-unit housing development. The development did not come to pass and in 1997. the lots making up the present Fishersfield Park were sold to Cersosimo Industries of Brattleboro, VT for logging.
In 1994, the citizens of Newbury, through a town survey, gave voice of their support to use town revenues to develop a multi-use recreation area. In 1997, a Newbury Master Plan laid out the groundwork for a recreation area. The Parks and Recreation Department took on the challenge to further define the Plan including searching out suitable locations. The Fishersfield property was one of the locations identified as a prospective site and in 1998, The Town of Newbury began the process of purchasing the Fishersfield Park tract from Cersosimo Industries. With the finalization of the purchase, the stage was set for the development of Fishersfield Park to begin.
Note: the majority of information related here was taken from, Part One - History of Newbury, NH – The Beginnings 1740-1800 – Bicentennial Edition 1978, Barrett Press, Newport,NH.
THE PRESENT
The Parks and Recreation Department, under the direction of Harry Seidel and a core team of dedicated volunteers, developed the Fishersfield Master Plan, a strategic plan to convert the land into an all season, multi-use community recreation center. The challenge now turned to finding the resources to put the plan into action.
Under the guidance of Carol Conforti-Adams, a volunteer, a grant request was developed and presented to the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development. In the Spring of 2004, the Newbury Parks and Recreation Department was awarded a Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant contingent on the Town coming up with matching funds. The citizens of the Town of Newbury once again stepped up to plate and unanimously voted a warrant article committing town funds to be used to secure 50% of matches. The remaining amount is being raised through in-kind matches of volunteer labor and donated materials and services by local contractors.
The LWCF grant opened the door to aggressively move forward with the initial phase of the Fishersfield Master Plan. Under the terms of the Grant, a new access road, sports field, service building, a network of multi-use trails, playground, picnic area, and a volleyball court will be constructed with a completion date of December 2008.
THE FUTURE
The foundation is now set. The years of planning and groundwork complete, the Parks and Rec department is posed to realize this important project.
The initial phase of the Fishersfield Park Master Plan has a four-year time line. The completion date is December 2008, however, the planners and volunteers are working with a much more aggressive timetable. The anticipation is that the sports field and first series of hiking trails will be usable by the winter of 2005.
Longer range goals for Fishersfield Park include a second sports field, tennis courts, a nature center near the park pond, and historical exhibits in the protected farmstead area.
Through the continuing generosity and commitment of towns people and tradesmen, the dream of Fishersfield Park is becoming a very real event. And while the LWCF Grant has been a immense boost, additional funds will be required to meet the December 2008 deadline for this initial phase. Special fund raising events are planned. And concerted efforts are in progress to find financial partners with non-profit organizations that share the preservation and conservation philosophy of Fishersfield Park.
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