The Guilford Land Conservation Trust has received a bequest of open space and other property valued at $2.5 million, the largest gift in its 40-year history and believed to be the largest charitable gift in the history of Guilford.
The landmark gift was the bequest of Effie Good, who passed away in April. Ms. Good left the land trust her home on Moose Hill Road and a total of 36 acres of land.
“This is a truly magnificent gift to the people of Guilford from someone who had a great love for the town’s natural beauty and wanted others to enjoy it for generations to come,” said William M. Bloss, president of the land trust.
The gift of land is particularly prized by the land trust because of its proximity to the large Westwoods hiking trail complex of open space owned by the land trust, the state, the town and private landowners. The open space portion of the bequest will be added to the land trust’s Westwoods holdings. The land fronts Moose Hill Road, and the scenic quality of that portion of the road will be protected.
“It is a beautiful piece of property in a critical location,” Bloss said. “Effie will always be remembered for this legacy of generosity.”
Ms. Good had a long association with the land trust. She and her sister, Helen Good Bensche, sold 15 acres, including the Moose Hill Road entrance to Westwoods, to the land trust in 1991. They sold an additional 26 acres to the land trust in 1998 for less than market value. That property includes a long section of the violet hiking trail in Westwoods. The sisters’ grandfather had once used the property as pastureland.
The land trust plans to sell the Good home on Moose Hill Road and use the proceeds to support additional acquisitions of open space in Guilford.
The land trust has protected more than 2,100 acres of open space in Guilford since its founding.
