Location
Francestown, NH

Size
26.6 Acres

Year Protected
2007

Benefits
Habitat Protection
River Protection
Scenic Views

Key Features
Forest Land
2275' River Frontage

Robinson Easement

Photo by: Jan McClure

Why I Protected My Land with PWA

When I was first getting to know my husband, Buck, he would take me to a romantic cabin on Scobie Pond. It was very rustic, with no running water and two stoves for heat. Leaving Cambridge and going to Scobie became such a wonderful respite for us that, when we got married in 1981, we looked for land in the area.

We were lucky to find a river property close to the center of Francestown; it was secluded, wooded, and wild. The year our first child was born, we installed a small shed with a tiny woodstove, and spent weekends exploring the woods and river. Three years later, when we had a second child, we built a family-sized cabin.

If we had known then that we would wind up farming on the NH seacoast, we never would have bought wooded acreage, let alone built a cabin in Francestown. But in 1991 we made the decision to move our family to the land in Stratham where I had grown up and to open a large, organic berry farm. Now how would we ever get to Francestown? Should we sell the cabin?

We couldn’t. We loved it too much. The cabin became a source of secluded family delight. It offered a perfect laboratory for us all to discover forest, pond, and river wildlife. Salamanders, beaver, otter, trout, blue heron, ducks, turtles, bear, deer, mice, and a host of songbirds and insects made every visit exciting. For two years, we tried keeping bees in the field, but each time, a bear demolished the hives and left us humbled.

The cabin was also an experiment in alternative energy, with photovoltaic panels, solar hot water, a wood-burning boiler, a woodstove, a propane fridge, and cooking stove. While we were gone, the batteries would charge, and when we came for a weekend, we would use the stored electricity and hot water. In winter, we ran a generator to boost the batteries. Not being connected to the grid was a source of pride, and conservation of energy was a house rule.

As three small abutting properties became available, we added them to the original purchase, hoping to further protect the river. In spring floods, the river rounds two sharp corners, shooting a powerful stream of water up onto the shore and carrying away brush, fern, and gravel. It is a beautiful, powerful sight, and offers a glance back in history to a time when there was a water mill just upstream of us on Potash Road.

We often talked about putting our land into easement, and did so with the farm in 1998. That same year my husband was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, so the Francestown easement got put on hold. When he died in 2003, I vowed to finish realizing our dream of permanently protecting the land we had bought together.

Now the children are 18 and 21, and both are studying for environmental careers. The land will soon be placed under conservation easement with the PWA, and the value will drop. I will be able to gift the property to them and know that its protection is assured. We will all be grateful to the PWA, in perpetuity!