Working in partnership with Richland Township, Heritage Conservancy facilitated the preservation of 55 acres of land in the Quakertown area. Owned by Kathy and Lee Clymer, the Clymer Farm contains agricultural fields, pastures, a portion of the Tohickon Creek, forested areas, and a pond, and it is currently being utilized as an equestrian farm.

Located along Axe Handle Road with over 1,600 feet of road frontage, the preservation of this property will ensure that this recognizable fixture of the landscape is protected forever.

In fact, its visible viewscape is what first attracted the Clymers to the property. Lee Clymer, who has been a lifelong resident of the Quakertown area since 1929, used to enjoy country drives spent admiring the beauty of Bucks County with his father. Lee continued this tradition with his own children, and one of their favorites to admire was the now Clymer Farm, which they dubbed at the time “The Canoe House” because it had a canoe out front when it landed on their radar some 50 years ago. Thirty years later, Kathy and Lee Clymer purchased the property, and now it has come full circle with the conservation easement that they chose to place on it.

Richland Township considered the Clymer Farm a high priority for preservation because of its strong conservation values. With its prominent water resources and its proximity within the Quakertown Swamp wetlands complex, which is the largest freshwater wetland in the region, the preservation of the property will help to protect water quality for the community. The property contains prime agricultural soils, and the protected wooded areas will help to prevent soil depletion that will in turn absorb rainwater that could otherwise cause flooding. This preservation also safeguards essential natural habitat that allows plant and animal life to thrive.

“Richland Township was honored to work with the Richland Township Preservation Board and Heritage Conservancy to place this conservation easement on the Clymer Farm,” said Tim Arnold, Chairman of the Board for Richland Township. “We have been working together for years to preserve properties like this, and it’s for the benefit of our entire community that we continue to share in these successes.”  

“As a land trust, we obviously get excited when we preserve important natural areas,” said Jeffrey Marshall, President of Heritage Conservancy. “We find it additionally rewarding when we are able to fulfill a long-standing dream of a property owner. This is a real feel-good story of land and the people who love it to end the year with.”

Kathy and Lee Clymer first met each other in their 20s. Kathy, originally from Virginia, moved up to this area to work on a horse farm. She met Lee, who was working on a dairy farm at the time. This love for the land has continued throughout their lives. They are self-proclaimed country folks at heart, which is what inspired them to preserve their property.

“The property has a little bit of everything that makes this area unique, and preserving it as-is was important to us,” said Lee Clymer. “I have seen the area change so much; you don’t realize that you are in a heavily populated area when you drive along this pocket of land. I’m glad that we have the chance to contribute to protecting our countryside.”

Thanks to this decision to preserve their property, the Clymers have ensured that people who are out on a country drive 50 years from now will appreciate this same scenic view that they fell in love with decades ago.

The preservation success of the Clymer Farm was made possible through funding from Richland Township with support from the Bucks County Agricultural Land Program and Heritage Conservancy’s Calvin Ruth Memorial Fund. Heritage Conservancy will be the holder of the easement, Richland Township will be the co-holder, and Bucks County will be the beneficiary.