Wells Lakeside Park and Delaney Woods

Community protects public recreation on Lake Saint Catherine

The town of Wells surrounds Little Lake, the southern end of Lake St. Catherine. Hundreds of camps and second homes ring its shores, yet until fairly recently, there was no public access to the water.

The legacy of the Delany sisters lives on in Wells Vermont

Instead, locals relied on the goodwill of the Delaney sisters who let them use their waterside land to enjoy the lake for nearly 50 years.

When the Delaney sisters passed away, their 300-acre property was at risk of being divided up and sold off. Community members, many of whom had strong memories of fishing and swimming in Little Lake, realized that their children might not have the same chance.

A community effort to save land

We committed to this effort and made it one of our community campaigns. We bought the land using a bridge loan to give the community time to plan and raise money. There was a groundswell of local support. Excited residents raised $150,000 to help save the land. The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board offered critical support as well.

The Town of Wells took ownership of the woods and lakeside park area and we conserved and sold the farmland to working farmers.