Borderland State Park and Ames Mansion

Borderland State Park preserves the former country estate of Blanche Ames Ames and Oakes Ames, members of a prominent Massachusetts family whose interests ranged from art and woman suffrage to botany, invention, and public affairs. The estate’s early-twentieth-century stone mansion was shaped by Blanche’s design ideas and served not only as a family residence but also as a setting for her artistic and technical work. Its architecture, furnishings, and surrounding landscape help interpret the lives and interests of the Ames family.

Visitors can walk or ride through a large landscape of forests, open fields, ponds, stone walls, and an extensive trail system, while scheduled mansion tours provide access to portions of the historic interior. The park also supports hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, fishing, paddling, and seasonal public programs. The combination of a preserved estate, women’s history, scientific and artistic associations, and accessible outdoor recreation makes Borderland unusually varied as a historical destination.