Center Meadow lies in the heart of Mansfield Center Historic District, the northerly end of what was Mansfield’s original settlement area. Settlers arrived here in 1692, when Mansfield Center, which at the time was known as Ponde Place of Naubesatuck, was a village in the Town of Windham. In 1702 the settlers petitioned the General Court of Connecticut to separate from the village of Windham, and Mansfield officially became a town in 1702-03. From the very beginning, this small 1.2-acre property has been an open lot, most recently a mowing meadow, surrounded by houses, some small shops and the village meetinghouse.

Today, Joshua’s Trust maintains Center Meadow as an open wet meadow with the State of Connecticut using a portion of it for road drainage. Although unsuitable for walking, it can be viewed from the walking path along Route 195, which also offers visitors access to the oldest burying ground in Tolland County (1693), the Town of Mansfield’s Common Fields, and Joshua’s Trust’s Pond Lot. Public parking is available across the street from the property at the bus stop.