It All Started with 1 Acre

Or 1.3 to be precise.

This small meadow on the southeast corner of Cherry Brook and East Mountain Roads may not stand out as particularly important. It doesn’t have a view, it’s too small for hiking, and hundreds of people pass by it every day without knowing its significance:  in 1973, this field was the first donation to the 1-year-old Canton Land Conservation Trust.

Charlotte Craig, a social worker who bought a house on East Hill Road in 1953, was an active Land Trust member right from its start in 1972.  She may not have had a lot of land to give, but she donated the little she had.

40 years later, the Trust is the steward of 2,000 acres.

“She just wanted to set an example. It’s not large. It’s not contiguous to other parcels. But it was the first piece,” said Charlotte’s former neighbor Anne Duncan, who sorely misses Charlotte since her death in 2003.

The Land Trust will celebrate its 40^th Anniversary with day and night events on Sept. 29. The milestone has Trust volunteers – some of whom have been involved from the start – looking back at all they’ve accomplished and the friendships they’ve made along the way.

The Trust has obviously been successful in its mission, preserving land in its natural state – a testament to its founders, subsequent leaders, members, and land donors both large and small.  These 2,000 acres are preserved thanks to Canton people – some of them memorable characters like Charlotte Craig:

Anne and her husband Alan Duncan had barely moved into their house in Canton when “Charlotte was there, right on the doorstep” and in no time had Alan hooked into the Land Trust, eventually becoming president.

Anne says that at age 56, Charlotte would stand on her head until the change fell out of her pockets. She yodeled. She hiked, skied, played tennis and climbed mountains. She founded the Canton Food Bank. She was, Anne says, “a lover of the land and its people.”

And the people of Canton continue to appreciate what Charlotte started.