CBS Nightly News referred to it that way - including the 1634 date. And somewhat surprisingly, so does the Wiki entry for Boston Common in the very first paragraph. And then, somewhat NOT surprisingly IMO, Wiki contradicts that notion a few paragraphs later down in their entry.

Wiki first paragraph, 2nd sentence:

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Dating from 1634, it is the oldest city park in the United States.

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Wiki fifth paragraph, 1st sentence:

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True park status seems to have emerged no later than 1830, when the grazing of cows was ended and renaming the Common as Washington Park was proposed.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Common

Some other gems from Wiki:

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. During the 1630s, it was used by many families as a cow pasture. However, this only lasted for a few years, as affluent families bought additional cows, which led to overgrazing, a real-life example of the "tragedy of the commons".[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Common#cite_note-8][8][/url] After grazing was limited in 1646 to 70 cows at a time,[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Common#cite_note-9][9][/url] the Boston Common continued to host cows until they were formally banned from it in 1830 by Mayor Harrison Gray Otis.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Common#cite_note-10][10][/url]

[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ExecutionAnnHibbins1.jpg][/url]
Execution of Ann Hibbins on Boston Common, on charges of witchcraft, June 19, 1656. Sketch by F.T. Merril, 1886

The Common was used as a camp by the British before the American Revolutionary War, from which they left for the Battle of Lexington and Concord. It was used for public hangings up until 1817, most of which were from a large oak which was replaced with a gallows in 1769. On June 1, 1660, Quaker Mary Dyer was hanged there by the Puritans for repeatedly defying a law that banned Quakers from the Colony.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Common#cite_note-11][11][/url] Dyer was one of the four Quakers executed on the Common and known as the Boston martyrs.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Common#cite_note-12][12][/url][url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Common#cite_note-13][13][/url]

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I have loved history from a very early age and my memories are that through the years of my public education I was taught about the Boston Common - and it did not become a "park" until 1830 when the Mayor of Boston formally banned cows from Boston Common.

Am I splitting hairs here? Does it really matter? My recollections are that the word "Common" had a very specific meaning that reflected the tenets of the Puritan society - a "commune" type of society, so to speak? And to be truthful, I did not know that the Puritans banned Quakers - and the penalty for being a "Quaker" in Puritan Boston was death.

I will defer to the more learned history buffs on this truly great board to confirm or reject my thoughts on Boston Common.

Boston Common had more to do with old English traditions of village greens, common grazing space that also served as a meeting place, party space, and drill area. It was sort of a combination business park and recreational park. The Puritans of New England were slightly anachronistic in keeping the commons and village greens. England was going through massive upheaval as lords were enclosing the commons and claiming them as private property. Instead, they were still at the heart of Puritan communities. So yes, it was a park in 1634, just not solely a park.

As for Quakers, they were subject to death if they returned following expulsion. Catholic priests were given six months to leave (assuming they were shipwrecked or captured), then they were subject to death.

From my Rec and Park studies all towns of New England had commons. But the Plazas in Santa Fe and El Paso are even older. They were used for the same purpose as the "commons" in New England. They are still parks to this day.

The plazas are an interesting suggestion. Where's the line between public space and park? If you limit the discussion to English America, Boston would probably win, though I'd have to see when Salem established a green or common. Otherwise, you're right, Spanish territories probably take the overall prize.

I have seen lots of claims of the "oldest" in The United States come from New England. They seem to forget about El Paso and Santa Fe were around longer than New England.

Excellent point. It's been a few years now since our last visit to Santa Fe (my first visit was as a very young man in 1953, lots of visits since then), but I remember a mural in the Governor's Palace that shows 3 timelines (maybe more?) that reflect events in Europe, the early colonies on the US east coast, and the early Spanish settlements in the US southwest and California.

It was a real eye opener even for someone like me that lived in several towns in NM off and on for 20 years, first as a 5 year old and the last time as a 37 year old.

My wife was in Santa Fe for a business meeting and I tagged along.

There were 8 or 9 folks at the meeting from the East Coast and I made sure they all got to see the mural. They had never been to New Mexico and were amazed at the events depicted in the Spanish settlements timeline in comparison to concurrent events on the east coast and Europe.

A couple of the folks had made disparaging remarks about NM and Santa Fe saying they were" unimpressed". After I showed them the mural there were no more negative comments and they actually started showing an interest in the history of Santa Fe.

Rabid Cougar said:

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I have seen lots of claims of the "oldest" in The United States come from New England. They seem to forget about El Paso and Santa Fe were around longer than New England.

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The Spanish empire in North America doesn't get the attention it deserves. The only way Boston Commons maybe wins is if you define a park to be green space. In which case half the parks in New York City no longer qualify as parks.

Dr. Watson said:

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The plazas are an interesting suggestion. Where's the line between public space and park? If you limit the discussion to English America, Boston would probably win, though I'd have to see when Salem established a green or common. Otherwise, you're right, Spanish territories probably take the overall prize.

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San Pedro Park in San Antonio claims to be second, and gives Boston Commons credit as first. But stuff like this is hard to pin down. The springs were designated public land, which is different than the other local and older plazas.

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The springs and surrounding area were designated as public land by King Philip V of Spain in 1729

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Santa Fe 1610
Taos 1615