Environment

THE FARMS Newington is extremely fortunate to have visionaries who helped save a small portion of Newington's farming landscape – The Young Farm on Church Street and the Eddy Farm on Cedar Street.

THE YOUNG FARM is a 54-acre parcel acquired by the Town of Newington in 1999.  The significance of the Young Farm is that the property was one of the last two remaining active farms in Newington .  Prior to its acquisition by the Town, a developer had contracted with the executor of the estate and was preparing plans to subdivide the property into 70 half acre building lots.

The significance of the Young Farm is that the property was one of the last two remaining active farms in Newington .  Prior to its acquisition by the Town a developer had contracted with the executor of the estate and was preparing plans to subdivide the property into 70 half acre building lots.

This farmstead was acquired for the purpose of promoting passive open space not reuse for active recreational fields.  The farm's landscape is characterized by its rolling open fields and mature perimeter tree lines.  Rock Hole Brook flows through the southern edge of the property.

At present, the Town Council is discussing with the Deming-Young Farm Foundation a formal agreement to permit restoration and reuse the 1784 farmhouse on this property.  The Foundation is a dedicated group of volunteers who have been working on the house since 2001.  They are proposing that the Town grant their Foundation a leasehold and permit reuse of the house as a museum portraying Newington 's farming past.

THE EDDY FARM - In March 2005, Newington officials secured the opportunity to permanently protect a treasured working farm. The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national non-profit conservation organization, and the town negotiated an option to conserve the 61-acre Eddy Farm, located at the intersection of Cedar Street and Willard Avenue near the town's center. The Eddy Farm has been in continuous farming operation since the early 1700's, producing crops of corn, strawberries, hay and fruit. The property consists of open fields, an orchard, farm buildings and wetlands that comprise a picturesque agricultural landscape. The location of the farm, adjacent to other open space in Newington 's center, is a key scenic feature that helps shape the character of the town. Together with the adjacent town-owned Indian Hill golf course and Mill Pond Park , the permanent protection of Eddy Farm will secure 210 acres of protected open land in the heart of Newington . The Town of Newington adopted the preservation of Eddy Farm as a top priority for open space in its 1995-2000 Plan of Conservation and Development.

TPL, working with the Town, secured an option from the landowner to purchase an “Agricultural Preservation Easement”. The easement, sometimes referred to as a “land preservation agreement,” is a permanent and legally binding restriction against any future development on the land. In accepting payment for the easement, owner Lucy Fox, daughter of the late Roger Eddy, entered into a permanent legal agreement never to develop the land. The agreement will be binding on all future owners.

Newington Mayor Thomas B. McBride in 2005 said, “The permanent preservation of the agricultural use of the Eddy Farm gives the Town the opportunity to preserve our community's farming roots that run so deep. It is certainly a significant investment by our community, but it greatly enhances the quality of life for the present and future generations in a fiscally efficient way. There's no question this is a great moment in Newington 's history.”

Lucy Fox remarked, “Our family has loved this land and taken care of it for generations. Others love it, too: residents of Newington , the hundreds of kids who have worked on the farm, and thousands of people driving by daily who enjoy the view. I'm happy to have this wonderful opportunity to save a beautiful and productive working landscape in the heart of town for generations to come.”

TPL State Director Tim Northrop added, “ Newington , like many farming communities, has lost much of its agricultural space to residential and commercial development. In Connecticut as a whole, farmland is being lost at a rate of 7,000 to 9,000 acres per year. TPL is excited to be working on the Eddy Farm project as part of its statewide effort to forestall this trend, and to preserve an exceptional open space resource in the town.”

Under the terms of the proposed agreement, Fox will continue to run the farm and carry on her family's legacy of farming in Newington . The Town of Newington will hold the Agricultural Preservation Easement, ensuring that the property will not be developed or converted to non-agricultural uses.

The agreement will:

• Require that the land remain undeveloped;
• Prevent the subdivision and construction of residential homes on the land;
• Allow and encourage continued farming on the property;
• Provide limited public access in ways that do not interfere with agricultural operations through organized events and guided walks on the farm.

In 2002 the Town council proposed Rock Hole Brook on the Young Farm as one of Newington 's four greenways.  The Connecticut Greenway Council approved the Town's nomination as meeting DEP's criteria in May 2003.  The Rock Hole Brook trail is approximately 2,800 feet long and meanders along the edge of the fields and wetlands to the adjacent 65 acre Wallace-Patterson School complex.

Other existing Greenways in Newington include:
Cedar Mountain - Balf Park Ridgeline Vista Trail
Piper Brook - Flood Control Greenway
Twenty Rod Road - Candlewyck Greenway

Learn more about Newington Greenways Alliance.

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