The Town of Westport purchased the Clam House property in 1999 to rescue it from developers.   However, it wasn’t an easy feat.  When the town couldn’t afford the full purchase price, Westporters came to the rescue by reaching into their own wallets to make donations. Most Westporters knew that the site was simply too important to lose.  Not only did the property provide an outstanding view of the impressive tidal pond and its diverse wildlife but it was also loaded with historic significance and hometown folklore.

After the purchase, many town commissions and committees weighed in on the future use of the site.  The restaurant and barn, both too deteriorated and costly to save, were removed and the site was rezoned as open space.  Next, a long planning process began.  The goal was to ameliorate the site from the hardships it had suffered during its former commercial use and convert it into a newly restored, environmentally sound, passive setting for nature observation.  Additionally, the plan addressed the opportunity to improve the site’s impact on the natural resources and ecosystems of the Sherwood Mill Pond.

To create the landscape plan, the Town hired Silvia Erskine Associates LLC.  The firm described the unique setting as follows:

The site of the proposed park at Hillspoint Road offers an opportunity to create a public open space unlike any that currently exist in the Town of Westport.  With its location on the edge of the Sherwood Mill Pond, the site offers the chance to observe, up close, the rich variety of wildlife that a salt marsh supports, while enjoying the larger views of the surrounding marsh.

Now, after years of tweaking and a long process of gaining local and state approvals, the plan for the newly named Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve is finally ready for installation.  However, your financial help is needed.