1919Twelve acres were gifted to the city for the Lawrence Mountain Reservation.Government and Public Service, Location and Setting, City Government, Landscape

The land was purchased by Amos Lawrence of Boston to quarry the granite for the building of the Bunker Hill monument. However, the quality of the granite was deemed insufficient for that purpose. The land was recently acquired by Frederick A. Shackelford, who donated it to the city with the understanding that it should be kept in its wild state, and with the hope that an observatory could be built.