Land Trust receives Enfield land gift

The Finger Lakes Land Trust recently received a donation of over 140 acres of land in the town of Enfield, with a 200-year-old historical home.

The land and the house belonged to Margaret Bald, who passed away in 2020, and was given to the Finger Lakes Land Trust in accordance with her will. The Finger Lakes Land Trust knew about the gift prior to her death and worked with her estate until the property was transferred in June of this year, after the estate finished processing the property.

“She was very passionate about conserving the land she lived with her whole life,” Andy Zepp, executive director of the Land Trust, said of Bald.

The property has been in the Bald family since 1950, and the majority of the land is forested, with high-quality hickories and sugar maples, but there are some open fields. It also has Bald’s family house, a Federal-style home that the Woodward family built in 1822, which is located at 4 Stone House Rd.

“It’s a historic home that’s 200 years ago, unusually good condition due to not being altered,” Zepp said.

The land has three characteristics that make it desirable for the Land Trust. The first is that the land is adjacent to Robert H. Treman State Park in Ithaca, making it part of a large block of 2,000 acres of conserved land. The size of the area is especially important for wildlife habitats, as well as wide-ranging animals such as bobcats, and is more valuable than isolated patches of land with an equivalent total size.

The second is that it is in the watershed of Enfield Creek, with the 140 acres of forest filtering runoff. This helps preserve the water quality of Cayuga Lake, as well as the swimming area in Buttermilk Falls and Robert H. Treman state parks, the latter of which had to close due to water quality issues in the past.

“Given the proximity of this undeveloped property to the swimming area, it’s really important for helping to maintain that water quality,” Zepp said.

The third characteristic is recreational value. Zepp said he is excited about working with state parks and local trails groups to explore creating a loop trail off the Finger Lakes Trail at two different spots. Zepp expects that the trail, which has not yet been designed, will be developed over the next two years.

The Land Trust is listing Bald’s home for sale with deed restrictions for prospective buyers. The restrictions require that the buyer maintain the historic character of the house, such as maintaining the fieldstone facade and not making subdivisions to the house lot. Prospective buyers must not only make an offer on the home but answer questions about their plans for their house and prove that they have the resources to restore the home.

“Under the guidance of Historic Ithaca, we’re hopeful we can that find someone who has the interest and the resources needed to restore this magnificent home,” Zepp said.

The house, which is listed at carolbushberg.com/4-stone-house-road/, has a listed price of $275,000. The Land Trust will use proceeds from the sale to fund their conservation work.

Ed Finegan, an independent real estate broker who is working with Carol Bushberg to sell the house, said the listed price of $275,000 is low for a house that large, but the buyer will have to pay additional expenses for renovating the house, such as repairing leaks in the roofs, redoing the kitchen, redoing plaster throughout the house and modernizing the heating and electric systems.

“It needs a lot of work,” Finegan said. “This is a house that has not received a lot of attention for many, many, many years.”

Finegan said whoever buys the house can qualify for tax breaks considering the historical nature of the house.

The deadline for making an offer on the home is Aug. 1. Zepp hopes that the property will be transferred by September so that the new owner can install a new roof in time for winter.

“We put a pretty tight timeline on this knowing that the house does need a new roof,” Zepp said. “And that’s something the new owners should decide on the specifics, and this should still allow them time to do that before the snow flies.”

Finegan expressed his hope that the selling process would attact many buyers with the resources and willingness to restore the house.

“I just hope that that right person comes around because it’s a wonderful, historic resource that reflects the history of our area in a beautiful location, and in the end, whoever is willing to put in all that effort needed to bring it around will end up with a wonderful place to live,” Finegan said.

Zepp expressed gratitude to Bald for her generosity in bequeathing them her home and land, both of which are important resources that further the Finger Lakes Land Trust’s mission.

“It’s a rare thing, and it’s definitely an extraordinary gift,” Zepp said. “We’re very grateful to Margaret for this tremendous commitment of giving us property and giving us her home.”

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