MONROE, CT — A gap in a stonewall along 30 Old Newtown Road opens up to 65-acres of farmland that has been in the Benedict family for over 100 years. Rebecca Benedict Bottomley, who now lives in Massachusetts, remembers training and riding horses, and playing on the property with her brothers as children, roaming in the fields, and sledding down a steep hill in the wintertime.
On Monday morning, public officials celebrated the town of Monroe and Aspetuck Land Trust‘s $3 million purchase of the site, which will be preserved as open space. The transaction was aided by a $1.8 million Open Space Watershed Land Acquisition (OSWA) grant from the state of Connecticut.
Bruce Benedict said the property lies to the north of Benedict’s Home and Garden, and stretches out to the Housatonic Valley Rail Trail. Long ago, when it was still a working railroad, Benedict’s grandfather, Ralph Benedict, a dairy farmer who had purchased the property, relied on train deliveries for his feed business.
“It’s a nice fit for the town, a nice fit for open space,” Benedict said of the land sale. “We’re proud to be part of it. It’s a fitting tribute to the family.”
Bruce and his sister, Rebecca, joined several family members who attended Monday’s early morning press conference.
Speakers included First Selectman Terry Rooney, State Rep. Tony Scott, R-Monroe, Planning and Zoning Administrator Kathleen Gallagher, Economic & Community Development Director William Holsworth, Aspetuck Land Trust President Bill Kraekel and the land trust’s land protection specialist, Adam Goodman.
Aspetuck Land Trust Vice President of Acquisitions Ross Ogden also attended the press conference.
The town is committing $1 million toward the purchase, using money from its land acquisition fund, according to Holsworth, who worked with the land trust in applying for the $1.8 million state grant. Kraekel said the land trust will pursue other grants to complete the purchase.
Holsworth said the Benedict property adds to the 179 parcels already protected as undevelopable open space in town. Monroe owns around 995 acres of open space, so the 65-acre-parcel brings that total to over 1,000 acres, representing a 6.5-percent increase, according to Holsworth.
The OSWA grant is the fifth one the town has received, helping to protect a total of 228 of those acres, Holsworth said. “This 65 acres represents an increase of 28.4-percent in OSWA open space,” he added.
He said a benefit of the Benedict property is that the parcel is adjacent to Wolfe Park, Great Hollow Lake and the Housatonic Valley Rail Trail properties.
Gallagher, who served as Monday’s master of ceremonies, said, “as a planning and zoning administrator, I field many building development applications. However, the acquisition of open space is a vital initiative in order to meet our land planning goals and to preserve the natural beauty of the town of Monroe.”
“As the first selectman of Monroe, I am very proud of this acquisition,” Rooney said. “As we know, Monroe is a small town, a somewhat developing town, and as we develop, as we do things in the town and our main arteries, we have to care about our open space.”
The first selectman thanked Governor Ned Lamont for giving the town the opportunity to preserve the open space with state funding, the Benedict family and everyone involved, including Holsworth and the land trust.
“This is a beautiful piece of property,” Rooney said, adding it offers opportunities for trails and family events, and could possibly be “dog friendly.”
“The future of the land is uncertain, how we will actually use it, but we know it will be in this way in perpetuity,” he said.
Scott spoke of the Benedicts’ deep roots in town and of how the family’s decision to sell their land for open space preservation will benefit the entire community for many generations to come.
“I’m super appreciative on behalf of the people of the town of Monroe for you doing this, because you could have done so many other things with this property,” he said. “I also really want to thank Governor Lamont. He put his money where his mouth is,” Scott added of the governor voicing his commitment to open space preservation.
“At Aspetuck Land Trust, we frequently say, ‘land doesn’t preserve itself. People preserve land,'” said Bill Kraekel, president of the land trust. “This is a great demonstration of that. Without the partnership of the town of Monroe, Aspetuck Land Trust, the Benedicts and the state of Connecticut, we would not be here.”
“I’m filled with gratitude because of the foresight of the Benedict family and the town of Monroe’s commitment to land preservation,” said Adam Goodman, Aspetuck Land Trust’s land protection specialist. “These beautiful meadows, panoramic views and wildlife habitats will be protected forever. That’s what we’re celebrating here today.”
“We’ll have a parking area right here for the public to enjoy,” he continued. “We’re going to have hiking trails throughout the preserve. We’ll connect to Wolfe Park and the Pequonnock River Trail, which is a multi-use trail that goes 16 miles and connects Monroe to Bridgeport. People, animals and the environment will be better off, because of this project.”
Goodman thanked all of the public officials involved with acquiring the grant.
“I want to particularly thank the Benedict family, who could have quickly sold this property to a developer,” he said. “In a couple months, we could have 40 homes here. But instead, they have put their trust in the hands of Aspetuck Land Trust and the town of Monroe.”
The last property the Aspetuck Land Trust acquired in Monroe was 7.8 acres of open space at 38 Guinea Road in August of 2022. The nonprofit has preserved a total of 2,400 acres in the state and Kraekel said there is now a special focus on farmland, the last unprotected land.
Bruce Benedict and Rebecca Benedict Bottomley thanked everyone involved with the purchase.
Rebecca said, “we are so pleased that the Aspetuck Land Trust and the town of Monroe have partnered and worked together to preserve and keep this land as permanent open space for people to enjoy as much as we have.”
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Huge thanks to the Benedict family for making this a reality. This family has been active in many volunteer endeavors and has always been a go to family owned and family friendly business. Thank you for being a part of a great community.
My family having lived in Monroe for 41 years allowed us to see the development of Wolfe Park and Great Hollow Lake. Having been part of the Monroe Jaycees we put on many picnics for Monroe seniors at the great location of Wolfe Park and I spent many weekend days at Great Hollow Lake. Kudos to all that made this happen for the people of Monroe especially the Benedict family.
This is good news for our state and for the Town of Monroe. The state is still well behind on its goal to protect 673,000+ acres (21% of Connecticut’s land) as open space by the year 2023 and needs to achieve that soon, then move on to 30by30 (30% by 2030). Woodlands are our planet’s lungs, and the home for the wildlife we share our planet with. Thank you, Aspetuck Land Trust, for stepping up as well to preserve this as open space!
I hope they can somehow keep the cows. It’s nice to hear them when I’m fishing at the lake. It completes the country feeling.