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August 4, 2022

Bartlett, NH - The Upper Saco Valley Land Trust is pleased to announce its newest land project – a conservation easement protecting 128 acres of forestland along Dundee Road in Bartlett. The Mountainside Farm conservation easement was generously donated to USVLT by the Lloyd Family – Nicholas Lloyd, Julia Johannsen, Amelia Lloyd McCarthy and Benjamin Lloyd in honor of their father, Lewis Lloyd– in July 2022.

Expressing gratitude for the Lloyd family’s donation, USVLT Vice President Ann Bennett said, “With the decision to put their land in a conservation easement, the Lloyd family demonstrated their commitment to future generations as well as the rural character of Dundee Road.  USVLT is deeply grateful for their foresight and generosity.” 

The Mountainside Farm has a rich history. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, all lands in the White Mountains were the ancestral homelands of the Abenaki People. Once colonialists arrived, the Mountainside Farm became part of a 3000-acre land grant to William Stark, ironically for his service in the French & Indian wars. After Stark’s death in the Battle of New York the land was confiscated and sold at auction due to his loyalty to the British crown. Pioneer settlement began in the late 1770’s when Mountainside Farm became the home of Joseph Pitman and family, who were among Bartlett’s earliest settlers. 

In 1920, Mountainside Farm was acquired by George Melanson of Massachusetts, who enlarged and modernized the original farmhouse and barn, purchased a herd of cows and a bull, and brought electricity to Dundee Road by way of a Delco generator. Like many before him, George found farming in the East Branch valley difficult, and he sold the Mountainside Farm property to John and Lillian Lloyd of New Jersey in 1940.  

The Lloyds summered at Mountainside Farm, and in time, three of their grandchildren, Amelia, Nicholas and Julia, became the owners. Speaking on behalf of the Lloyd family, Amelia Lloyd McCarthy said, “For our entire family this project has deep meaning and resonance. We are thrilled to have preserved the essence and magic of a place that we each call ‘home’.” 

Abby King, Conservation Director for the Upper Saco Valley Land Trust, praised the project’s notable natural-resource values, including its contribution to a 941-acre unfragmented wildlife corridor, its rich forest soils, cold-water streams, and forested habitat. “Opportunities to conserve unfragmented forested habitat such as this are increasingly rare and vital to protecting wildlife in our region,” said King.

The Mountainside Farm conservation easement protects over 2,500 feet of scenic, undeveloped road frontage on both sides of Dundee Road; nearly 2,000 feet of a perennial cold-water streams that drain into the East Branch of the Saco River; 62 acres of farmland soils of local importance; 60 acres of Hemlock-Hardwood-Pine habitat; 68 acres of Northern Hardwood-Pine habitat; and 126 acres of highly productive soils for forestry. 

The Upper Saco Valley Land Trust is a non-profit organization working with local landowners to permanently protect the lands and waters that define our communities and enrich our quality of life. Founded as a grassroots initiative in September 2000, the Land Trust preserves land for community benefit in the watershed of the upper Saco River in the towns of Bartlett, Hart’s Location, Jackson, Conway, Albany, Madison, Chatham, and Eaton in New Hampshire and Fryeburg, Brownfield, and Denmark in Maine.

The Land Trust’s mission is to preserve the ecological systems and cultural values of the Upper Saco River Valley and to provide for the continued well-being and availability of land for farming, forestry, recreation, and education, as well as for land remaining in its natural state, benefiting natural and human communities. Together with partnership projects, the Land Trust has completed over 75 land-conservation projects and protected over 13,000 acres throughout its service area. For more information about USVLT visit www.usvlt.org or call (603) 662-0008.