NY Jets Owners Donate 800-Acre Mercer Co. Farm For Preservation

Princeton NJ

17 February, 2022

10:12 AM

Description

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — New Jersey's open spaces just got a lot bigger. The owners of New York Jets recently donated their mother's nearly 800-acre historic Hopewell farm to the D&R Greenway Land Trust for preservation. Robert Wood Johnson IV and his brother Christopher Wold Johnson donated the land in memory of their mother Betty Wold Johnson, a renowned philanthropist. Betty Wold Johnson supported the land trust's mission for more than a quarter-century, D&R Greenway said. With this gift, D&R Greenway has more than 22,000 acres of land preserved in New Jersey. Robert Wood Johnson, the former United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom is the owner of the New York Jets football team, and Christopher Wold Johnson is an American businessman and Jets co-owner. "We are pleased and proud to donate this special property in honor of our mother," Robert Wood Johnson and Christopher Wold Johnson said in a joint statement. "She loved Hillside Farm as much as she loved the Hopewell area and she would be thrilled that the land will be preserved for future generations to enjoy." The property sits on a hill with views across the Hopewell Valley, and holds ecological value for birds and wildlife, the D&R Greenway trust said. The land is larger in size than Hopewell Borough with most of it located in Hopewell Township and it's 10 minutes from Princeton. On the opposite side of town, and visible from the property, is the organization's St. Michaels Farm Preserve that Betty Wold Johnson helped protect, said D&R Greenway. "We are inspired by the family's confidence in D&R Greenway as we announce this historic land gift from Betty's family," said Peter Dawson, Chair of D&R Greenway's Board of Trustees. "In choosing our organization as the keeper of this legacy, the family is honoring Betty Wold Johnson's commitment to preserving land." The property includes forests, meadows, and agricultural land with a tributary stream to the Stony Brook, a state-designated high priority waterway. While the property is currently closed to the public, D&R Greenway plans to take a "thoughtful, strategic approach to determine how best to carry out Betty's vision" for the property before opening some of the land for public access. "We are thrilled to know that our residents will benefit from these preserved acres and future trails where they can connect with the land," said Courtney Peters-Manning, Mayor of Hopewell Township. "Our township's commitment to land preservation and our partnership with D&R Greenway remains strong as we look forward to enjoying the benefits for years to come." Betty Wold Johnson was also instrumental in securing and naming D&R Greenway Land Trust's headquarters, the Johnson Education Center in Princeton, on the former estate of her father-in-law General Robert Wood Johnson. Over the years, Betty Wold Johnson expressed her concern that the densely populated New Jersey was running out of open space. She spent four decades assembling individual properties to create her farm with the goal of protecting and permanently preserving its views and ecology. "Having this historic and beautiful property preserved in such close proximity to the borough is a treasure that displays the generosity of Betty Wold Johnson and her family," Mayor Paul Anzano of Hopewell Borough said in a statement. "With this land on the north and D&R Greenway's St. Michaels Farm Preserve on the south, we are ringed by a greenbelt that makes this an especially desirable place to live." For more information, visit www.drgreenway.org. Thank you for reading. Have a correction or news tip? Email [email protected] Get breaking news alerts on your phone with our app. Download here. Sign up to get Patch emails so you don't miss out on local and statewide news