SUSSEX COUNTY, Del.- Sussex County has purchased over 150 acres of land for preservation. It includes part of the Hopkins Preserve covering 51 acres.
Walter Hopkins calls the land his former playground and the woods his own Hundred Acre Wood.
It has been owned by the family for five generations and he says it is near and dear to his heart.
"Growing up as a child, I loved to come over here and play in the woodland and then helped my father till the land and then till it myself," Hopkins said. "Now in my later years I want the rest of the people to be able to enjoy what I have enjoyed."
Hopkins gave a fifty percent discount to the county to acquire the land as long as it will be used as a recreational space. The 51 acres were sold for $1.5 million.
The Sussex County Land Trust will be responsible for developing and managing the land.
"This parcel will connect via the rail trail to Hudson Park so it’s part of the network of open spaces between Georgetown and Lewes that will provide the public chances to get off-road off the main trail and see different spaces, different public spaces," Executive Director Mark Chura said.
Other acquisitions for the county include 13 acres of the Dorman Family Farm Preserve near Angola, 47 acres of the Jones Family Tract west of Millsboro, and 30 acres of the Dawson Bros. Tract east of Millsboro.
Sussex County Administrator Todd Lawson says that the purchases were made with money already collected from the realty transfer tax.
"The money that is acquired through real estate transactions is held and once we are able to find properties that we are able to acquire we are able to utilize that RTT," Lawson said.
Hopkins says that talks will start soon with the Sussex County Land Trust on that project. Between that project and the heartland project going on at the farm, it is planning to be a staple for the entire community and visitors of Lewes.