We’ve closed on the new Caterpillar Hill property! Thanks to everyone who made donations and showed their support of this exciting community conservation project. We are especially grateful to our partner land trusts who helped in this fundraising effort:
To make a contribution towards phase 2 of the Caterpillar Hill Project:
- Click here and be sure to check the “Tribute Gift” box and fill in Caterpillar Hill
- OR mail a check with Caterpillar Hill in the “note line” to Blue Hill Heritage Trust, PO Box 222, Blue Hill, ME 04614.
Thank You!
New Land Conservation Effort Underway to Protect this Iconic View
Caterpillar Hill Project Successfully Completed (Press Release from 12/18/18)
Blue Hill Heritage Trust Closes on Purchase of High Visibility Property
Sedgwick: Blue Hill Heritage Trust (BHHT) in a collaborative fundraising effort with Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) and Island Heritage Trust (IHT), has purchased a critical 32 acres of land in Sedgwick. Together the three trusts have completed the latest campaign in a two-decade effort to save the spectacular views from Caterpillar Hill – the view from Route 15/Caterpillar Hill Road. Working with MCHT and IHT, BHHT entered into a purchase option agreement in July of 2017, and completed the transaction on December 18, 2018. “This is an iconic place on our peninsula, and we are thrilled to conserve more of it for the public,” says Hans Carlson, Blue Hill Heritage Trust’s Executive Director, “and we will add it to our Cooper Farm property now that we have completed the purchase.”
The property includes the building which at various times has been an art gallery, a restaurant, and an ice cream shop. BHHT values the memories that this building may hold for people, but the structure’s foundations are failing, so it and the shed behind will be removed in order to open up the view to the northwest.
The views from Caterpillar Hill out to Penobscot Bay, are legendary, and rank high on the State of Maine’s scenic inventories of Penobscot Bay and Downeast Maine. People from all around come here to watch sunsets, pick berries, create art, or find inspiration. The townspeople of Sedgwick ranked protecting these views as a top priority, and conservation organizations made this a focus of their work as well.
“We are very grateful to the many people around this peninsula, Deer Isle and islands who gave in big or small ways, and who together helped us.” notes Ciona Ulbrich of Maine Coast Heritage Trust.
“Island Heritage Trust is honored to work with Blue Hill Heritage Trust and Maine Coast Heritage Trust to protect the view from Caterpillar Hill,” says Paul Miller, Executive Director of IHT. “Visitors to the area are treated with one of the best lookouts in the State of Maine. Deer Isle residents cherish this view and know that when they see the island from the top of the hill, they see a special place: home.”
In addition to protecting the scenic views from the roadside, acquisition of this land will offer an opportunity to work with the town, on the part of the property along the town-maintained roadway to Walker Pond.
