Rogers and Gunther Property Acquisitions
Two important properties have recently been acquired
by West Windsor Township to be preserved as open space. These include the
13-acre Rogers property in Grovers Mill and the 8-acre Gunther property
bordering the Millstone River. FOWWOS was instrumental in both acquisitions.
Rogers Property
The Rogers property is located on Big Bear Brook
across Clarksville Road from Grovers Mill Pond. It not only is an important
piece from an ecological point of view, but also has historical significance,
having been visited by Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Grover Cleveland.
The township acquired ownership of the property in
June at a cost of $1.1 million, with FOWWOS and Mercer County sharing in the
cost and the Delaware & Raritan Greenway providing technical assistance and
helping FOWWOS raise funds. The County contributed $500,000 and FOWWOS
covered the remaining $600,000 through grants and more than $110,000 in
contributions from 22 families in the neighborhood.
"It's important, especially in a town like West
Windsor that has been subject to so much development of late, that we
preserve as much green space as possible," Mercer County Executive Brian
Hughes said.
Longtime resident Ronald Rogers, whose family sold
the property, was a co-founder and trustee of FOWWOS before he died in 1999.
The Rogers family turned down offers for more than twice as much from
developers to ensure that the property would remain as open space as Mr.
Rogers would have wanted. The land will be used for passive recreation and
FOWWOS eventually will construct low-impact trails to connect the property to
other preserved open spaces in the Township.
Gunther Property
The 8-acre Gunther property is on Joanne Street, off
Millstone Road near the Millstone River. To purchase the property in
February, FOWWOS applied for and received a $180,000 Green Acres grant, and
The Mercer County Open Space Committee also provided $180,000 in funding. The
township covered the remainder of the $632,000 purchase cost with a bond
issue.
Acquiring the Gunther property is important to the
township's plan to preserve land along the Millstone River. By acquiring land
and gaining access to easements along the river, the township hopes
eventually to create a trail that will stretch along the Millstone River from
the Princeton border to the East Windsor border. "The reason this is
important — this is going to be a piece of property that will continue what
we wanted to do to preserve the riverbank of the Millstone River," said Mayor
Shing-Fu Hsueh.
Last October FOWWOS received a $25,000 federal
Recreational Trails Program Grant administered through the New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection and a $5,000 Corporate Responsibility
Program Grant from GE Healthcare of West Windsor to fund the development of a
trail on the property and others along the Millstone River. FOWWOS and West
Windsor Township have worked closely with members of the Mayor’s Bicycle and
Pedestrian Task Force in the design and implementation of these trail
improvements.
FOWWOS held a public review of plans for improvements
to the area, and work began in April on a half-mile portion of the Millstone
River Preserve Trail near Millstone Road. Those improvements will provide for
access to and travel on the Millstone River with the addition of a
canoe/kayak launch located near the Millstone Road bridge, connection of the
existing trail to a future small gravel parking lot at the trailhead on
Millstone Road, and addition of a macadam path along Millstone Road from the
parking lot to the canoe/kayak launch area. “It’s another great example of
private/public partnership between Friends of West Windsor Open Space and the
township to preserve the roots of West Windsor for future generations," said
FOWWOS trustee and co-founder Dick Snedeker.
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