Harriette G. Hodges purchased the first of 3 properties in 1919 that in 1976 were put into the hands of her descendents to be held as the Baptist Pond Trust. And in the spring of 2008 these trustees placed an easement on 1,800 feet of frontage on Baptist Pond (part of the Lake Sunapee watershed) as well as 65 feet of frontage on Bog Brook and 355 feet of frontage on North Brook.
In addition to the important public benefit of it’s watershed protection, this easement also offers scenic value as the land is visible from 3 public roads: I-89, Stony Brook Road, and Deer Hill Road . And the 75-mile Sunapee Ragged Kearsarge Greenway trail passes the property on Deer Hill Road.
In the words of John Garfield, secretary/treasurer of the Baptist Pond Trust, "My co-Trustees and I feel that this conservation easement is a particularly appropriate way of reflecting the goals of my grandmother and her descendents in a changing economic environment. The tax concessions that should accrue will make it easier for our family to enjoy the Pond as before. In the eventuality that our descendents lose their personal interests in the area, it will continue to protect the ecology and what's left of the tranquility of the Pond for their assigns, and for the other property owners along the Pond. As a personal note, I feel that the power we have developed to affect the environment we live in leaves us with a particular responsibility to respect what Nature and Nature's God have bequeathed to us."