The purchase was made by the City following a two year fundraising effort by the Greater Lewes Foundation, which raised $8 million dollars to purchase the property from the Rollins Family Trust.
The 30-acre property is a few blocks from downtown Lewes, and one of the first properties ever deeded to a settler in 1670.
Greater Lewes Foundation executive director Michael Rawl says the purchase will create an area that other municipalities can look to for inspiration.
“Knowing what’s possible if they get the right amount of support. A lot of times you hear from the development community that if people want to save a land they should buy it. So that’s what we did. I’m glad it happened that way and showed that it could be done.” he told DPM.
The property is now scheduled to undergo a ten year restoration process, where invasive species will be removed and the remaining native plants given more space to grow.
Rawl says besides the restoration efforts, the area will only see low impact changes, if any.
“This isn’t that type of thing, this is a preserve and it's meant to be a rich habitat preserve for the animals and birds and so forth, and also an area that’s important for flood abatement." he said.
Of the final $8 million dollar price tag, the Foundation reports that over $2 million came from donations made by nearly 1800 local community members.
The rest was provided by the City of Lewes, the state government, and through some philanthropic giving.
Rawl notes the original price tag was about $13 million, but the Rollins Family Trust purchased it and reduced the price because it wanted the area preserved.
The historic significance of the property is also a reason for it's preservation. Rawl says that during the early days of the project, it was noted that this appears to be the first ever piece of land deeded in Sussex County.
As a result, it is also the oldest deed in the state of Delaware.
"It was deeded by the Duke of York to Helmanus Wilkbank, who's acknowledged as the first settler of Lewes."
In fact, the Foundation has written a book about the historical significance of the project entitled "The First Settler of Lewes", which Rawls says is another way the Foundation is raising money.
The restoration will be funded by the Greater Lewes Foundation through additional fundraising, Rawl says the foundation still needs around $800,000 for that work.
All proceeds from book sales, he says, go directly towards restoration efforts.
