Queen Lake Association

Sponsored by Historical Society
Held Sat. July 12 and Sunday July 13 rain or shine
From 10 am til 4 pm. Adults $18, Children under 10 $5
Includes a fine lunch (held between 11 and 2)

Some say Phillipston should have been named “Phillips Stone” because of its many granite glacial deposits.

Years ago, farmers struggled to clear fields and build stonewalls with these rocky obstructions; today the stones are objects of beauty and the enhancements of many lovely gardens.

All nine gardens on Phillipston’s tour are enriched by the natural granite of the region. The tour will take you through unspoiled countryside. In the early 1800’s Phillipston was a growing town with industries powered by its good source of water from Queen Lake. Then, when the railroad bypassed the town in the mid 1800’s, businesses moved away and the town’s economy and population declined. She never grew to the large town she seemed destined to become. Residents now say the decline is what saved the town and preserved the natural state enjoyed today.

All locations have beautiful and diverse plant varieties, but the settings are all different — some formal and manicured to perfection, others informal with the appearance that the flowers just grew there naturally. One has interesting arbors and stone walks that lead from planting to planting, another has totems and stone sculptures. There’s a fairy garden in one, a Japanese garden in

another, and several have fountains of trickling water to add a musical quality to the experience. One garden includes exotic plants brought here from China, another is highlighted by birdhouses of every imaginable design. Some of the old industrial remains are tastefully incorporated in the gardens of a home that was formerly a workshop.

To “top off” the tour, lunch will be served at a rustic hilltop cabin where one can eat, relax, enjoy some old familiar tunes with a local accordion player, and admire the grand view of eight distant mountains.

Tickets will be sold at a booth near the Congregational Church on the Phillipston Common where a map of the tour will be provided. For information and tickets, contact Paula Ouellette at: 978-249-3760.