Right Field Playground - North and South Rivers Watershed Association

47 Summer St, Kingston, MA 02364, USA

Owned By: Town of Kingston

Directions

A fenced-in playground for preschool and elementary age children, with swings, slides, monkey bars.. Located directly behind Kingston’s Reed Community House and Bailey Memorial Playfields, with its own driveway off Landing Road. There are baseball fields immediately adjacent, with soccer and basketball facilities nearby.

Features

The Capt. Fred L. Bailey Playground was constructed on this site in 1923 by a group of volunteers, led by Fred Bailey. Five acres of land were donated by Dr. & Mrs. Archer O’Reilly, and a series of 3 Town Fairs were held to generate funding for the project. The fields were leveled and a spring-fed pond was filled in to create the wide, flat area now transformed into athletic fields. Kingston High School teams practiced and played here until 1955, when Kingston joined the Silver Lake Regional School District. The property is named for Bailey, but some of the ballfields are dedicated to Alf. C. Lootz and John H. Candler.

In 1926, Mr. & Mrs. Edgar Reed of Worcester presented the beautiful Reed Community House as a gift to the town. The building was designed by S. Lincoln Rhodes. Edgar Reed was a descendant of Kingston resident and inventor, Jesse Reed.

This land is within the region of the Patuxet Wampanoag tribe, who for centuries have inhabited the area around the Jones River now known as Duxbury, Kingston and Plymouth.

Community Preservation Funds helped to furnish, restore and maintain this property.

Trail Description

No trails, but the Reed Community House / Bailey Playfield complex offers ample space for a walk along the edges of the playing fields.

Habitats and Wildlife

Right Field Playground has woodchips underfoot. There are some shade trees along the perimeter.

This property is within the watershed of Halls Brook. Halls Brook finds its source above Bracketts Pond in Kingston and winds from the western part of town, and through the downtown area. Just west of Route 3, it flows into the Jones River. The Jones River finds its source at Silver Lake and other brooks and springs in Pembroke, Halifax and Kingston. It flows for 7.5 miles through Kingston, and drains into the Atlantic Ocean at Kingston Bay.