Chester Land Trust: Home/About Us

Chester Land Trust board member volunteers work in partnership with residents and Town officials to identify land that has conservation possibilities, and determine if and how the acquisition of such parcel could benefit both the Town residents and others in the community. ›› more

Little Rock Nine Hiking Trail & Plaque Dedication
to honor Constance Baker Motley Preserve Heritage Site, Chester
Saturday, September 23, 2023

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CANCELLED DUE TO FORECASTED HEAVY RAIN AND WIND! DEDICATION WILL BE RESCHEDULED.

The Constance Baker Motley Preserve in Chester, a CT Freedom Trail heritage site, will be honored on Saturday, September 23, 1- 4 pm, when its popular “Little Rock Nine” hiking trail and newly installed history plaque will be dedicated. The event is part of a month-long, state-wide celebration of Connecticut’s Freedom Trail that memorializes exceptional achievements in the struggle for freedom and human dignity by the state’s African American community.

New Haven-born Constance Baker Motley (1921-2005) was a brilliant civil rights attorney who successfully litigated 200 school desegregation cases in the South, and later became a federal judge. From 1965 to 2005, she maintained a home in Chester. The Chester Land Trust created the Motley Preserve in 2017, building its “Little Rock Nine” hiking trail in 2020, named for her famous 1957 Arkansas school desegregation case. The program will include speakers, house tours, hiking and light refreshments. The dedication takes place at 100 Cedar Lake Road, Chester, rain or shine. Event co-sponsored by the Chester Land Trust and the Chester Historical Society. For more information: marta.daniels@snet.net

• Mission Statement •

The Chester Land Trust is a volunteer non-profit organization established in 1987. Currently, the Land Trust has 87 gifted or donated preserve acres and an additional 6.7 purchased acres which is the Motley preserve.
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How Land is Acquired

2023 CLT Properties

Carini Preserve

Scudder Preserve

Burr Brook Preserve

Duck Pond Preserve

Piquet Preserve

Wood Preserve

Chester Creek Preserve

Waterhouse Brook Preserve

Rayner Preserve

Gateway Preserve

Constance Baker Motley Preserve

Lakeview Avenue Preserve
The Old Tannery Preserve
Melillo Preserve

The Pines Easement
Brooks Lane, Liberty Ridge Easement
Bush Conservation Easement

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter."
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Rachel Carson