Success!
Thanks to the support of our members and donors, we successfully reached our fundraising goal for the important protection of Stow Acres.
Thank you! Please stay tuned for our next big land projection project.
Land Protection
Permanent protection of the Stow Acres Country Club land is currently the Stow Conservation Trust's top priority, with a final fundraising goal of $100,000 needed by Fall 2022!
When donating, please select 'Stow Acres' to direct your gift to this important project.
Background information:
Two years ago, rumors circulated that Stow Acres Country Club was about to be sold to a large national developer. At 338 acres, it was the largest undeveloped/unprotected property remaining in Stow. The Stow Conservation Trust (the Trust) quickly got to work by facilitating a unique private-public partnership with the Town of Stow, the owners of Stow Acres and the private developer. Our shared objective was to create a vision that would protect as much open space for conservation and recreation as possible, while using the most suitable land for a mixed-income housing development.
At Annual Town Meeting in 2021, residents voted overwhelmingly to purchase a Conservation Restriction on Stow Acres’ 151-acre South (golf) Course for $1.5 million with Community Preservation Funds. That land will now remain in use as a public golf course, while protecting important ecological features and limiting future uses and development. This is also the site of the Victorian-era clubhouse and historically-significant former Mapledale Country Club, once a mecca for African American golfers.
What remains is the purchase of the 115-acre North Course. Last fall, a price of $3.5 million was approved by Special Town Meeting, using $2.5 million in Community Preservation Funds. An additional $1 million must now be raised by late summer/early fall from gifts and grants to enable the Town to acquire this land.
With one final fundraising effort, we can protect this remaining land for public recreation, conservation, ecological restoration, and affordable and diverse housing. This land will be put to a wide range of potential recreation uses, including trails, ball fields, and continued golf. The housing element will be a mixed-income traditional New England-style development, designed to add significantly to the Town’s affordable inventory and to limit environmental impacts.
The Trust is a local, non-government, non-profit conservation land trust, founded in 1977 and staffed entirely by volunteers, your friends and neighbors in Stow. The protection of Stow Acres is now within reach. Please help the Trust raise $100,000 towards the final fundraising goal and help make our community all it can be.
