Barrington’s Conserved Lands: Jefferey Conservation Easement

Jefferey Conservation Easement

The 80 acre Jeffery Conservation Area with owner and Forester, Stephen Jeffery, holds the honor of being the very first established Conservation Easement in Barrington in 1984, when Jeffery donated the development rights to his property to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, thus forever protecting his land in the form of a Conservation Easement. He also hosted the town’s Natural Heritage Day Fair in September of both 2006 and 2007. 
There are several lovely trails throughout this 80 acre property with one major well maintained dirt road which leads the hiker down to Mendum’s Pond (see map). This main road is an easy half mile starting from the house. There are many stops along the various side trails to look at points of interest including a Persimmon Tree, a huge boulder called a “glacial erratic”, a small sacred site with stones marking the directions and of course lovely Mendum’s Pond to reward you at the end of the main road. Swimming in the pond is permitted but, of course, at your own risk.
None of the trails are blazed, but the paths of most are pretty obvious. At the time of this writing, however, parts of some of them are obscured due to recent logging operations on the property, so they may be difficult to follow. The property is a working tree farm and there can be lots of vehicular activity on any given day
Access to these trails is only by permission of the owner, Stephen Jeffery. He has been very generous with this permission to hikers over the years. He may be contacted by phone at 664-9002, by email at sjeffery@metrocast.net, or simply by asking at 128 France Road. Parking is behind the house, near the barn, or at the log landing.  Make sure that you are not blocking the passage of other cars; if in doubt, leave your keys on your seat so that your car can be moved.  Aside from cars parked at designated areas, no motorized vehicles are allowed on the property.