With the help of generous donations, Easton Legacy Fund aims to help Easton not-for-profits support and give back to the town through various projects. Below, we highlight Frothingham Park, which we feel is a strong consideration for future Legacy Fund grants.

Frothingham Park

15 Park Street, North Easton | Visit Site

From dawn to dusk, the 11 landscaped acres of Frothingham Park are open to all. Many do not realize that it is owned by a not-for-profit and not the Town, but it is.

Frothingham Park was built in 1930 and dedicated by Mary Frothingham to honor her late husband Louis A. Frothingham.

The Park is privately owned but open to all in the Town of Easton to utilize. There is a baseball field, walking track, basketball court, tennis court and children’s play area. Over the 91 years of its existence, it has served as a recreational facility for the townspeople of Easton or just a place to come and enjoy the beauty and serenity of the Park.

For 92 years it has served the Town of Easton as a high school football field, competition track, baseball field for the high school and local baseball teams, basketball court, walking track, high school graduation facility, summer recreation facility for children, children’s play area, tennis courts with overlying pickle ball courts, civic events and events in conjunction with the Easton Recreation Commission and YMCA . There has been nothing constant about Frothingham Park except change to meet the everchanging needs of the townspeople of Easton. Arguably this is one of the important facilities in town that provides for all the townspeople and has had and continues to have a positive impact on the community at no cost to the Town of Easton.

The Park receives compliments on a regular basis for its beauty and condition. We are most proud of the up-to-date facilities. One of the most beautiful baseball fields and walking tracks along with a brand new basketball facility and two new tennis courts with overlying pickle ball courts allowing for two simultaneous tennis matches or four pickle ball matches. Our groundskeeper takes great pride in providing a clean and manicured facility.

Currently we are looking to provide a pavilion in the vicinity of the children’s play area that will allow shelter from sun or inclement weather and a place where parents and children could sit under cover and enjoy lunch or any number of activities on picnic tables under the roof of the pavilion. We are also looking to provide a smooth surfaced area for an outdoor work out facility with some equipment added.

Chuck Hurley

President of the Frothingham Memorial Corp.

Sometime around 1985 both Buddy Wooster and Doug Porter asked me if I would consider being a Director of Frothingham Park. Buddy was the Superintendent of the Park and Doug Porter was a Director of the Park and the president of North Easton Savings Bank. As a child, I played at the Park when visiting Easton as I lived in Stoughton from age 5 to 19. I returned to Easton and lived at 47 Day Street, just a stone’s throw from the Park. I taught Math at Oliver Ames High School from 1969 to 1981. I went into business for myself and formed Scoreboard Enterprises in 1973.

I was intrigued by the invitation to become a Director and wondered how the Park operated, what I could bring to the table, what it meant to the citizens of Easton, and how it was funded. It took me nearly ten years to understand how the Park functioned. I guess I was a slow study.

I stayed on and constantly assessed what needed to be done and prioritized in my mind based on need and available funding what could be accomplished. I was also the new kid on the block and wanted to respect those Directors who were already in place. Operating from a trust fund meant that in good times we could accomplish more than in bad times and unless there was an overwhelming reason to withdraw money from the trust it was not to be touched.

The Park was nearly 60 years old when I got involved and much needed to be done from the standpoint of maintenance. I knew it could not be done all at once. It would have to be a gradual metamorphosis. I had to become creative about funding and involve the Town. CPA funding was a crucial component in renovating the Park facilities and proved to be the catalyst that moved the renovations ahead.

Much had changed over the years. The Park was a focal point for high school athletic activities which included football, baseball, and tennis. However, times have changed, and the Park facilities were only being used for high school baseball, as the new high school provided its own facilities for sports. I felt that if Mrs. Frothingham were here today, she would want the Park to meet the changing needs of the Town.

We added new children’s equipment, rebuilt all of the stone columns around the Park, repaired the fencing, removed structures that were no longer being used, leveled the track and made the surface more user-friendly, leveled the baseball field, and improved the infield, built new tennis ball and pickle ball courts, built a new basketball court, built a new storage shed, renovated the main shed, added a pavilion and most recently added a personal fitness facility.

My goal has always been maintenance-oriented. Get things fixed and up-to-date. Get the capital expenditures reduced to a minimum annually so the Park can be maintained and not continually seeking to fund capital expenditures. I am most proud of what the Directors and Park Superintendent have accomplished in making this Park a polished diamond, a resource for the community, and a place where townspeople can enjoy themselves as spectators or participants with the facilities we provide.