Town Commons - Brunswick, ME - Municipal Parks and Plazas on Waymarking.com

By their vote of May 8, 1719, the Pejepscot Proprietors "Granted one thousand acres of land to ly in general comonage." Unlike the village green or town common found in the center of many New England towns, the Brunswick Town Commons was a specific grant from the private lands of the Pejepscot Co., and not from town-owned common and undivided land.

Located near the geographic center of town, the Commons has influenced the growth of the Brunswick region. Upon the promise of two hundred acres of land from the Commons, Bowdoin College was established in Brunswick. In the late 1800's the Town appropriated money to plant and cultivate blueberries on the Commons.


Granite monuments placed in 1891 by D. E. Campbell, Civil Engineer, marked all angle changes of the boundaries. Monument E marks the south western corner and is located in the Peat Heath. Five more of the historic granite markers are located within the boundaries of the Naval Air Station.

In 1905 the Town began a planting and management program for White Pines and Red Oaks. In 1930 Brunswick voted to establish an airport on the Commons and the first aircraft landed in June, 1934. Later known as the Brunswick Municipal Airport, this land was the nucleus of what is now the Brunswick Naval Air Station.

Today the Commons provides year-round recreational opportunities for Brunswick citizens and serves as a living laboratory for local elementary school children.

The Town recognized the unique status of the Commons in the Town Commons Resolution adopted February 1968.

Although part of Brunswick was heavily forested in 1719, much of the area had not yet recovered from the devastating forest fire of the late 1600's. McKeen wrote that the first settlers gathered great pieces of Beech heartwood charred by that fire to use as firewood. The sandy plains were the site of frequent fires, both wild and set. They became known for large flights of Passenger Pigeons and for blueberries.

The pigeons vanished years ago, but blueberries still grow on the sandy ridge of the Pitch Pine Barren. Once common along coastal plains, pine barrens are now one of the rarest natural communities in the State of Maine. White pine has started seeding into the barrens in an attempt at natural succession. Forty-one species of trees and shrubs have been listen for the Commons.

Name: Brunswick Town Commons Street Location: Route 123 Local Municipality: Brunswick State/Province, etc.: Maine Country: United States Web Site: [Web Link] Date Established: 1719 Picnic Facilities: Tables Recreational Facilities: Hiking trails Memorial/Commemoration: Not listed Monuments/Statues: Not listed Art (murals/sculpture, etc.): Not listed Fountains: Not listed Ponds/Lakes/Streams/Rivers/Beach: Not listed Special Events: Not listed Traditional Geocaches: Not listed

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