Welcome to The Dunstable Rural Land Trust
Parcel Donations received by the DRLT
The Gregg Family
Hugh and Catherine (Cay) Gregg initially donated forty acres on land in 2002 with the express intent to preserve and protect the open space where the family had called home for over fifty years. In 2006, two years after Hugh Gregg passed away, the Gregg family decided that it would like the remaining land in Dunstable to be permanently protected and made available to the public for walking and hiking. The Dunstable Rural Land Trust has permanently restricted use of this property by way of conservation restrictions to ensure compliance with the wishes of the Gregg Family.
A following quote from Cay Gregg expresses the wishes of the Gregg family:
“To protect what little open space there is in our area for all to enjoy, including not only the human race, but the wild birds and beasts.”
ROBBINS FARM REALTY TRUST PARCEL
This property was owned for many years by the
Howard Robbins family of Nashua. It was sold
to the Robbins Farm Realty Trust
(Kenneth Tully) who, in 1998, donated
38.86 acres of this parcel to
the DRLT as part of the Robbins Farm
subdivision on Hollis Street.
This land connected the Brox parcel to the two
George and June Tully parcels
(5.59 and 50.00 acres) referred to below.
HUGH R. MCGOVERN PARCEL (MEMORIAL TO GEORGE R. MCGOVERN, SR.)
The property, comprised of 14 acres, was
donated in 1994 as a memorial to
George R McGovern Sr., who passed away in
1974. Mr. McGovern came to
Dunstable with his wife Susan McGovern in 1946,
purchased “The McGovern Farm” on Main Street
where they raised their family. This land located
on Unquetynasset Meadow on Groton Street is a
picturesque spot surrounded by large stands
of pine trees with Unquetynasset Brook flowing
through.
The McGovern family's love of the Town of Dunstable, love for the land, and the desire to permanently recognize the McGovern family efforts were the impetus for Hugh and Roberta McGovern’s gift in his father’s name. George R. McGovern, Sr.
The Trust is committed to installing a permanent marker in the name of George R. McGovern, Sr. on this property once a suitable marker is located.
KENNETH A. TULLY / HUGH E. MCGOVERN / GEORGE R. MCGOVERN, JR. ROPERTY
This property, referred to as the "Horse Hill Development", contains 38.15 acres deeded to the DRLT as part of an agreement to allow construction of several homes on what was once owned by the Cambridge, Massachusetts YMCA. The above three individuals pooled resources and purchased an extensive parcel of land including several thousand feet of road frontage along Groton Street, School Street and Hall Street. This land is adjacent to the Wood and Matson properties. It also abuts property the Saab Horse Hill property.
Although not specifically named as such, the gift was donated to the DRLT in her father’s honor , for his many years of service to the Town of Dunstable and his efforts to establish the Dunstable Civic Associates.
GEORGE E. AND JUNE L. TULLY PARCELS
Three separate contributions were made to the Trust by George and June Tully.
The first contribution occurred on December 27, 1988, comprised of 3.7 acres located at Salmon Brook adjacent to the railroad bed (The Red Line).
The second donation of 5.59 acres occurred on April 24, 1999. This parcel was donated for the
purpose of connecting property
owned by the DRLT (the Robbins
Farm 38.86 acres), the Brox parcel
and the initial purchase from
Blanchard Hill.
George E. Sr. and June L. Tully
Mr. and Mrs. Tully's third gift donated
George E. Sr. and June L. Tully
Mr. and Mrs. Tully's third gift donated
in 2008 comprised over 100 acres in
three separate parcels: 50 acres
adjoining the parcels held by
the DRLT which enabled the Trust to
enlarge its trail system 33 acres at River Street,
Dunstable/East Street, Pepperell 28.82 acres on Dan Parker Road, Groton. The 50 acres, located behind the Tully Farm on Fletcher and Hollis Streets, enlarged the Trust's Wildlife Refuge, bringing the total DRLT holdings in that one parcel to approximately 412 acres. The property was gifted pursuant to a Timber Cutting Agreement with the stipulation that George Tully would have two years to remove the timber in accordance with an approved cutting plan as required by generally accepted forestry practices. Next to farming, lumber growth and harvesting was a second passion of George Tully.
ALAN E. CHANEY PARCEL
Alan Chaney donated a five acre parcel located near Flat Rock Hill to the Trust in 1994. Although not directly connected to the quarry parcel, this parcel later become part of a larger area (Ferrari) that is now entirely protected.
In 2007, the Town of Dunstable negotiated
to purchase approximately 150 acres from
Charles and Joan Ferrari for $2,500,000. With
this purchase, the Flat Rock Hill Quarry parcel,
the Chaney property, the first
George E. Tully (Sr.) parcel, and the Ferrari
properties were now connected as one large
parcel of protected land, although ownership is different.
KENNETH A. TULLY - MILL BROOK PARCEL
In October 1995, in conjunction with the development of the Mill Brook parcel on Main Street, Ken Tully donated 7.24 acres to the DRLT. This property abuts Salmon Brook and the Boston and Maine railroad (The Red Line).
RANDOLPH PARCEL
TWENTY ASSOCIATES PARCEL
Although not directly connected, the Trust was able to purchase a small parcel from the Twenty Associates of Nashua, NH. Twenty Associates is a small group of Nashua business people who, over time, had acquired parcels of land located in Nashua, NH and Dunstable, MA. The Dunstable parcel was mainly land-locked and of little value except for its conservation purposes. Today this parcel connects to the Kennedy parcels, the Town of Dunstable/Carter property, and the Saab property on Danforth Road.
WARREN AND SUSAN SHAW ALLGROVE PARCEL
This property, also located on Unquetynasset Brook on Groton Road, encompasses approximately 15 acres & abuts similar property held by the Town of Dunstable Conservation Commission. This property was owned previously by Attorney James Shaw, father of Susan Allgrove.
FLAT ROCK HILL QUARRY
The Flat Rock Hill Quarry parcel is located on the Boston and Maine ("The Red Line") railroad bed at the Nashua, New Hampshire/Dunstable, Massachusetts border, accessed via High Street.
1989 View of Salmon Brook shaded by gravel and trees
George E. and June L. Tully initially donated a 3.7 acre parcel on the railroad bed adjoining Salmon Brook on December 27, 1988. At the time of the donation, this property contained a heavy timber crop of pine trees and an extensive and high gravel component; the location and height acted as a natural barrier to keep the water of Salmon Brook cool as it traveled from Dunstable to Nashua. During the time the DRLT owned this parcel, the timber was illegally harvested on more than one occasion, with the culprit(s) never located.
To the east, the property abuts a one-time quarry that had been abandoned approximately 75 to 100 years ago. This property was left as though someday the quarry would reopen. A pond, largely filled with granite, remains on the property and large pieces of granite remain in place as cut.
The quarry was formerly owned by Packy Winn of Nashua. It was sold to the Tamposi Family of Nashua (doing business as Buckmeadow Realty) who turned the property into a gravel removal operation in 1983. The Town of Dunstable required Tamposi to deposit funds (performance bond) to guarantee restoration upon completion of the gravel operation. This operation continued for several years until the major pockets of gravel were
primarily depleted.
Horse Hill Property
The property was acquired many years ago by Louis Saab, a very successful attorney and real estate investor from Lowell, MA who had acquired the property from Cornelius Kiernan, a former Massachusetts judge and political figure. This property abuts the Horse Hill Development referred to above. This parcel was completely “land locked” until its purchase by the DRLT.
Over a period of several years, the Trust made attempts to contact and negotiate with Mr. Saab about a possible purchase to no avail.
In November 2009, Peter Georges informed the Trust that he was acting as a Consultant to Louis Saab, not in his capacity as trustee of the DRLT regarding a potential purchase. In May of 2010, Mr. Georges presented an offer to the Board to purchase the 18 acres for $90,000. The Trustees took no action on the offer.
James P Hall
In a surprising turn of events, Louis Saab
died suddenly of a heart attack. David Tully
and Attorney James Hall conversed several
times about what could possibly happen to
the Horse Hill property. David Tully presented
an offer to Mr. Hall in which the DRLT would
pay $36,000 or $2,000 per acre and close as
soon as possible. The executors of the Estate
of Louis Saab accepted the offer and a check
was immediately issued to Attorney James
Hall, as escrow agent. The check was held for a period of several months pending approval of the Massachusetts Probate Court. The approval and transfer occurred on October 6, 2011.
ROBERT AND CLAIRE KENNEDY PARCELS
On November 17, 2006, Robert Kennedy and his wife Claire donated three (3) parcels encompassing approximately twelve acres of forestland on Hardy Street to the Trust. The property abuts the Dunstable Conservation Commission land and is adjacent to the Nashua, NH boundary.
Claire and Bob Kennedy
WAYNE MATSON AND GEORGE AND SYLVIA WOOD PARCELS
These two landowners held adjoining properties consisting of 45 and 38 acres respectively on Hall Street, both being unexpected gifts to the Trust. Richard Larkin, attorney for the DRLT, was instrumental in putting these two parcels together and working with both families to arrange the donations. Mr. Larkin had a prior acquaintance with the Matson family through their sons' sports activities, in his position as a coach, as well as with his involvement with the Boy Scouts.
Danforth Road Property
In addition to the Horse Hill property, Mr. Saab owned another land-locked parcel on Danforth Road which contained twenty-four acres in Dunstable. Executors of the Saab Estate initially considered this property to be a valuable addition to its adjoining property in Tyngsborough, MA. After considerable investigation and discussion with Dunstable Town officials, it was determined that access through Tyngsboro would not enable them to construct houses in the Town of Dunstable. Thus, the land became almost worthless for development purposes.
Working with Attorney James Hall, the DRLT offered $10,000 to purchase this property, contingent on the agreement of the Saab executors that the DRLT be provided an access through their adjoining Tyngsboro land. This was a contingency that was neither well received nor accepted, and the contingency was removed. The Trust purchased the land-locked property for $10,000 on May 7, 2012.
RUSSELL AND SHIRLEY TOBEY PARCEL
Under the terms of the Russell Tobey's will, the Tobey home will be sold with the proceeds funding a scholarship to be administered by the Town of Dunstable for the benefit of graduating Dunstable seniors.
The remaining land containing approximately 7.24 acres was
bequeathed to the DRLT and will be open to the public once a
small parking area is constructed.
This property abuts the Sears property (which is subject to a
permanent conservation restriction referred on page 54 held
by the Trust). It is the intent of the DRLT and the Sears family
that a small walking trail be established in the near
future connecting the Sears and Tobey parcels.