HAVRE DE GRACE — after nearly three decades Harford County acquires more than 300 acres of land.
Thursday representatives from the Harford County Government, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Harford Land Trust, and the Davis family closed on the $6,270,000 purchase of Belle Vue Farm in Havre de Grace. The sale ensured the property’s permanent preservation.
The 347-acre waterfront property had been owned and operated by the same family since before the American Revolution. It includes one mile of undeveloped Chesapeake Bay coastline. The land will now become a Harford County park.
County officials say the property is the missing puzzle piece to a total of 1,250 acres of preserved land on the Oakington Peninsula.
"We hope to, as I mentioned, keep it very passive,” said Harford County Executive Barry Glassman. “A trail system, of course we want to have some kayak launches so folks can enjoy the Chesapeake Bay off of the cliffs of the bay at the farm. In addition to that, provide opportunities for bird watching. It has one of the great populations of native birds and traveling birds throughout the site."
The acquisition completes the county's goal of permanently preserving the only undeveloped area of privately owned Chesapeake Bay shoreline.
