It's not just a New England thing, Dan (and everyone else). In Halifax, they have a large piece of land near downtown called "The Commons" As Tom alluded to, it was originally a common grazing area for the livestock of the town dwellers. I'm sure that it would have been an idea that was brought over from England.
I've always said that cultural lines in North America run north/south, so that a fisherman in Nova Scotia has more in common with a fisherman in Massechussets than he does with a stock broker in Toronto. At the time of the American Revolution, there was great pressure for Nova Scotia to be the "14th Colony", and throw off the colonial yoke, as it were, along with their southern bretheren. Apparently it was close, but they decided to stick with The Crown. Wouldn't North American be a different place if Nova Scotia would have joined the Revolution? I'd be American, as my parents are from Nova Scotia! (Well, it's not that simple, because my Acadian grandparents might not have moved to an American Nova Scotia in the early 1900's - but I digress). There's a great true story about the giant Christmas Tree that's in the Boston Common every year. There was a huge explosion in the Halifax harbour in 1917 - an ammunition ship blew up, and the city was leveled - thousands died. The railroad tracks were destroyed, and the only way for relief to get in was by ship. The first boatload of doctors, nurses, medics and medical supplies came from Boston! As a thank you, the next Christmas the City of Halifax sent Boston the largest fir tree it could find, and it was erected in the Common. They still send one every year, and apparently there's a big lighting ceremony and all. I think that's a cool story. Sorry to have rambled OT so much... cheers, frank "Daniel J. Matyola" wrote: > In New England, however, and particularly in Boston, the one central piece > of land, often a green area, is referred to as a "Commons," even though it > is only one place. > -- "The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true." -J. Robert Oppenheimer
