Pine Banks Park

Elisha Converse owned 107.5 acres of land in Malden which had originally belonged to the Wampanoag Tribe in the early 1660s and then the Lynde family in the early 1700s. The original Ensign Thomas Lynde farm included what is now the Wyoming Cemetery, Pine Banks Park and extended to and beyond Forest Street. Its earliest history was as a traditional New England farmstead, but it was acquired by Elisha Converse in 1881, used privately by the Converse family, and then opened to the public in 1889. Elisha died in 1904, leaving the Olmsted-designed park to the cities of Malden and Melrose (which had previously been part of Malden) and stipulating in his will that both cities were to share equally in the upkeep of the park or the land would revert to the Converse family!

Today, the park includes baseball fields, picnic areas, a rugby field (home of the Mystic River Rugby Club), a dog park, walking and hiking trails, and hosts many traditions, such as the annual Fairy House festival, annual visit from Santa, and other events.