WINCHENDON — The Marchmont property, nearly 400 acres of woodlands just west of Lake Monomonac, has been donated to Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust by the White family, according to the organization.
With the property now officially transferred to Mount Grace, the land trust now holds the land as a public resource, with the Town of Winchendon holding a conservation restriction (CR) to ensure its permanent protection. In 2011, the White family and the town partnered with Mount Grace to protect the first portion of the property, the announcement read.
“Mount Grace is deeply grateful to the White family for their generosity and to the Town of Winchendon for their partnership,” said Emma G. Ellsworth, executive director at Mount Grace. “This achievement both honors Winchendon’s heritage and invests in its future.”
At that time, much of the estate was covered by a conservation restriction, but roughly 11 acres surrounding the site of the historic Marchmont Castle—destroyed by fire and removed in 1955— were excluded from it. With this new transfer, those 11 acres are now secured as well and will be managed by Mount Grace for community events and recreation.
“I’m so glad Mount Grace will be caring for this land,” said June Girouard, a Winchendon resident whose family runs the neighboring Murdock Farm. “It’s beautiful here in a way you don’t fully appreciate until you walk the trails. From the road it looks like just fields or woods, but once inside you discover how peaceful it really is.”
The property sits within the Millers River Watershed and is home to mature woodlands of white pine, red oak, hemlock and red pine. A long-established network of multi-use trails weaves through the forest. Open to the public since 2012, the land will remain accessible.
Plans are underway to enhance the trail system with clearer signage and improvements in areas where water or rough terrain can limit access. The newly protected 11-acre parcel includes open fields with potential for activities such as disc golf, archery and other outdoor gatherings.
Marchmont Forest was both a key piece of the Southern Monadnock Plateau project— completed in 2012 — and a southern link in the larger Quabbin-to-Cardigan Initiative.
“Our family’s ties to this land stretch back to 1847, when our great-great-grandfather established his textile mill in Spring Village,” said Eric White, a trustee of the Marchmont Trust. “Generations of our family grew up exploring these woods, and in honoring our father’s wishes, we are proud to see this 384-acre forest remain undeveloped under Mount Grace’s care.”