Newtown Forest Association (NFA) announced that they reached an agreement with Dr Thomas Draper’s estate to purchase Deep Brook Farm for $1,300,000 in an e-mail sent to donors on Thursday, June 20.

The plan to purchase the 63-acre property has been underway for about a year according to NFA President Bart Smith. The formal contracts were signed last week, and the NFA has already begun property inspections and the due diligence process.

Although NFA has raised over $800,000 to purchase the property, Smith said that they only have until September 1 to raise the rest of the money. While Smith noted that it was a “daunting task,” he said that the organization is ramping up its fundraising and reaching out to donors, foundations, and municipalities that would be possible funding services.

“We really have to get things rolling,” Smith continued. “It’s a lot of money and it’s over a relatively short period of time, but we feel very strongly that the property is such a huge asset to everyone in town that it almost has to happen.”

The layered history of Deep Brook Farm, which borders the Borough and Dickinson Memorial Park, dates back to the mid 18th Century, as the main house and main parts of the barns were built around the mid-1700s. The property has been continuously farmed in some capacity since then according to Smith, which he says is interesting because not a lot of other properties can say the same.

In 1972, the land then came under the care of Draper, who served as a pediatrician and the director of health for Newtown. When Draper passed away early last year, Smith said that there were a few neighbors of the farm who were looking into purchasing the land so that it would not get developed. He says the neighbors then reached out to NFA and asked them to get involved.

“And that’s how it started,” Smith explained. “We had some meetings with the neighbors and then started negotiations. We said that we can help and see if we can get enough traction from the community to raise the money to purchase the property.”

At that point, Smith says that NFA did not have a set price with the Drapers, so they had been negotiating with them up until about a couple of months ago to agree on a price.

For NFA, Smith says that owning Deep Brook Farm would mean many things. It would protect the property from high-density development that would lead to the paving of nearby dirt roads Point O Rocks Road and Deep Brook Road and the wildlife in the area either moving somewhere else or disappearing.

NFA owning the area would also mean that it becomes open space that, while privately owned, would be open to the public. They plan to put in trails that would encourage the public to use the area for recreational activities such as hiking, walking, and wildlife viewing.

“All of our properties when we own them are open to the public from dawn to dusk for passive recreation, so we feel that with its location and the beauty of the property, the amount of use that the public can get out of this, it’s just something that Newtown can’t live without,” Smith said.

NFA did some fundraising to purchase the property last year, but Smith said that they eventually hit a roadblock.

“We came to an impasse where it was difficult to work with donors and try to talk to people about donating without having a purchase price. You kind of have a moving target,” Smith said. “So now we have a set target, and we have until September 1 to raise the money.”

Smith stressed that their efforts in raising the rest of the money come with a lot of urgency, as not purchasing Deep Brook Farm means opening up the property to development.

“And once it’s gone, once you develop a property, the farm will only exist in people’s memory,” Smith continued. “Your children will never personally know what you’ll be talking about. You can say that an area used to be a farm, but they’ll just be looking at houses and buildings. It’s just not a farm anymore. It’s a tall order, but it’s an order that we think is worth it.”

Smith also wanted to emphasize that they are a 501(c)(3) organization, so donations are tax deductible. NFA is also currently accepting pledges, which Smith says is important as people can pledge money and say that they have the intention to donate at the time of their closing, but do not have to write any checks yet. He says that if, for some reason, there is any issue with the purchase, then they do not have to get a refund since they would not have actually written the check.

NFA has also been working closely with Kathleen Mount and Martha Odell, daughters of Draper and executors of his estate, on the sale of the property. Both Mount and Odell have many fond memories of Deep Brook Farm, whether it was learning how to drive a tractor to getting another call about how one of their cows was loose again.

They said that Draper’s connection to farming comes from spending summers on a relative’s farm in Canada, with Mount saying that he “spent as much time on the farm as possible.”

As a health director, Draper was always keen on people of all ages getting exercise and being in the outdoors according to Odell. She says that he was also a family man, and would love to see people go outside and get out together, whether it be jogging, picnicking, or anything else in between.

Odell added that NFA will continue to allow farming in some capacity, which she says they really appreciate since farms are disappearing at a rapid rate in Connecticut. By not just preserving the land, but also permitting farming, Odell says that NFA is allowing future generations to continue “using the land as it has been for the past 250 years.”

“The people of Newtown are our neighbors, friends, and relatives. So to have everybody be able to access that by contributing something, it enables future generations to enjoy it just as much as the current one,” Odell said. “There will be something for everyone here.”

The purchase is also a full circle moment for the family, as both Mount and Odell say that their dad and mom would drive over to Holcombe Hill, where NFA headquarters is located, and take walks together up the hill. To Mount, NFA purchasing the property continues the legacy that Draper left behind.

“For us to know that our children and grandchildren will always be able to see where their grandparents lived and it’s not a development, that it’ll be the same beautiful land with the same beautiful views. Our family is thrilled,” Mount said. “He would be thrilled that his property would now become a special place for other people.”

Anyone who wants to donate or pledge to the purchase can go to newtownforestassociation.org/#donate and select the “Deep Brook Farm” campaign. For those interested in learning more about the property or making a donation greater than $5,000, please contact NFA Executive Director Trent McCann at trent.mccann@newtownforestassociation.org or NFA President Bart Smith at bart.smith@newtownforestassociation.org.

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.