Project Description
About Hal & Olive Tilghman Preserve
Hours: Dawn to Dusk
The Hal & Olive Tilghman Preserve is a 1.85 acre property located along the Chappaquiddick Road. By walking the Hal & Olive Tilghman Trail, one may travel beneath the Preserve’s canopy of oak and hickory, connect to the Landing Place Road, and follow this scenic path to the Landing Place beach on Edgartown Outer Harbor. Entirely wooded, the Preserve is notable for its many hickories and is a representative sample of the Chappaquiddick forest.
The Preserve was donated to Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation by Reverend and Mrs. Tilghman in two states. In 1991, the Tilghmans gave a conservation restriction over the property to Sheriff’s Meadow, and in 2000, the Tilghmans donated the fee interest in the land to Sheriff’s Meadow as well. Also in 2000, the Tilghmans donated a trail easement that allowed for a public trail, not only on the Tilghman Preserve but also on the land of the Tilghman family’s Chappaquiddick home.
Reverend Tilghman believed in the good that trails can offer. He served as president of Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, and believed that as a landowner, he ought to provide trail access to his own property before asking other landowners to provide access to theirs. With the creation of this trail and the donation of this trail easement, that is exactly what Reverend and Mrs. Tilghman did. In 2010, the Tilghman children widened the trail easement from four feet to ten.
Through the conservation work of the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission in this area, the Hal & Olive Tilghman Trail now connects to Landing Place Road and the Landing Place beach, and also connects to North Neck Road via another Land Bank trail.
DIRECTIONS
The entrance to the Hal & Olive Tilghman Trail is located on the north side of the Chappaquiddick Road approximately 1.4 miles from the ferry landing. The nearest available parking is at the Chappy Community Center.
