After more than two years of collaborative work between the CT. Dept. of Transportation, the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), Chester Land Trust, Chester Historical Society, Chester P&Z, Chester Board of Selectmen, and the Chester Department of Public Works, two (2) CT. Freedom Trail directional “Way Finding" signs were installed in early September on Route 148, eastbound and westbound, near the intersection with Cedar Lake Road. These signs, which are 5 feet long and stand 7 feet high in clearance, point to the Constance Baker Motley Preserve and her former home, both heritage sites on the Connecticut Freedom Trail (CFT) since 2018. This was a significant achievement for the town, the Chester Land Trust, the Chester Historical Society, and for the State Historic Preservation and Heritage Communities.

It was the first such signage for the state’s 28-year-old CT Freedom Trail in more than 10 years. The Freedom Trail honors exceptional achievements in the struggle for freedom and human rights by the state’s African American community.

The Chester Land Trust Trustees wish to thank Marta Daniels (Curator, Constance Baker Motley Special Collection, CHS) for her extraordinary efforts on this project, and Skip Hubbard ( CHS, Archivist) for the photo of the Freedom Trail Signage.

September 2023

New Freedom Trail Signs

​Chester, Connecticut

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THE CHESTER LAND TRUST

April 2023

3rd Annual Town of Chester Clean Up Day

​The Chester Land Trust teamed up with the Town of Chester and organized the 3rd Annual Town of Chester town-wide clean up day in honor of Earth Day 2023.

On Saturday April 22nd @ 9 am, about 35-40 of our dedicated volunteers assembled at the town-owned Water Street Parking Lot. After a brief orientation and assignments, the distribution of trash bags and donated gloves, everyone headed out to scour the town for litter.
 
Results: On Saturday 4/22/23, 54 Bags of trash and recycles were collected around the town and transported to the public works garage. Other items collected were tires, many metal items, and lots of car parts. 18 bagswere separated and collected by the volunteers, containing recycling items. On Monday April 24th, Land Trust president Bill Myers and 2 volunteers went out to a hazardous busy traffic area on Route 148 (West Main Street near Baker Road), and collected an additional 7 Bags of trash and recycling items. The 18 bags collected on Saturday, and the 7 bags collected on Monday were entirely hand sorted by Bill and the results are:  Three (3) 120 gallon Blue recycling "All Waste" containers full of recycling acceptable items, and a total of 61 bags of litter and recycling were removed from the street sides !