Land Conservation
ClearWater Conservancy's Land Conservation Program seeks to balance the rapid growth of central Pennsylvania with the conservation of important ecological, cultural, and historic places. We work with landowners and managers to determine appropriate conservation methods, including land management recommendations, conservation easements, and land acquisition.
Rhoneymeade Farm, a valuable historic and open space resource, was ClearWater Conservancy’s first conservation easement, signed on October 30, 1986.
Located between Boalsburg and Centre Hall in Centre County, the 140.5 acre site was first settled by Michael Rhone in the late 1700s and has been continuously farmed for over 200 years. A brick farmhouse, finished in 1853 by Michael Rhone’s grandson, Leonard Rhone, is near the center of the property.
The Farm was purchased by Richard Morgan, a retired Penn State professor, in 1984. In 1986, he signed a conservation easement with ClearWater Conservancy to protect the open space resources of the land. He has also put the farmhouse on the national register of historic places.
Although
the land around the brick farmhouse is not included in the easement, Morgan
wanted the surrounding 140 acres to remain in agricultural use and be protected
from subdivision. Richard Morgan has landscaped the land around the house,
including an arboretum, sculpture garden, and, recently, a labyrinth, which is
open to the public seasonally.
Visit the Rhoneymeade Arboretum, Sculpture Garden, and Labyrinth website for the open house schedule.
Read Rhoneymeade Rendezvous: A Farm, A Sculpture Garden, & An Arboretum.