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Shepard Family Conservation Area

Property Name: Shepard Family Conservation Area

Description: Also known as Shepard Park, the land is an L shaped parcel of forested land and open fields. The land contains a brook and the cellar hole of the original Shepard family homestead. The land along East Derry Road and behind the old homestead is periodically cut to keep the fields open. The land along Pond Road and the interior are forested. A number of stonewalls cross the property. Two signs, one on East Derry Road and one on Pond Road, identify the property.

The Shepard family: Klaudia and Henry Shepard Jr., Anne Shepard Bullis and Edmund Bullis donated the land to the town of Derry on October 3, 2000. 

The Shepards described the donation as: “A gift to the Town of Derry from members of the Shepard family in honor of four generations of the family and their contributions to the town.”

Click here for a map of the Shepard Property.

Size: 36 Acres

Public Uses: Hiking, Cross Country Skiing, Snow Shoeing, Nature Observation, 3 Picnic areas in Area B along Pond Road

Only charcoal cooking fires are allowed and only in the picnic area grills.

Prohibited Uses: No motorized vehicles of any kind. No hunting or trapping. No horseback riding.

Location: Pond Road and East Derry Road near the Upper Village Hall

Access Via: Pond Road and East Derry Road

Conservation Easement Restrictions: The Shepard family felt it was very important to put a conservation easement on the property to preserve the land as open space for the benefit of current and future generations. The family wanted the uses to be focused on activities that would not damage the land.

The land was given to the town subject to a conservation easement, which is held by Rockingham Land Trust of Exeter NH. The executory interest holder or backup easement holder is the New England Forestry Foundation. The easement states how the land may be used.

The property may not be sub-divided. Industrial and/or commercial activities including mining and removal of topsoil or stones are prohibited. Forestry may be performed under the direction of a licensed forester. No structures or improvements can be made on the property except for the following:

  1. In “Area B” a 200 foot by 200 foot area along Pond Road the town may construct a picnic area with outdoor cooking, toilet facilities (including septic system), and an unpaved parking area.
  2. Walking trails and bridges.
  3. One single defined trail for bicycle travel.

The easement specifically prohibits the following:

  1. Motorized vehicles except those used in forestry activity, mowing of lawns and hay fields, and brush removal.
  2. Horses except those used in forestry activity, mowing of lawns and hay fields, and brush removal.
  3. Bicycle travel except on a single trail defined by the town.
  4. Hunting and trapping.

History: The land was first acquired by William H. Shepard in 1855. It was the home of William’s son, Frederick J Shepard, and his wife Annie Bartlett Shepard, both of whom were very active in the civic life of Derry and the State of New Hampshire. Their three sons carried on the tradition of service to the town. Frederick, Jr. built the Taylor Library on East Derry Road. Alan was Treasurer of Pinkerton Academy, organist at First Parish Church for over fifty years, and the father of Derry’s most famous son, Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., the first man in space. Henry’s son, Henry Shepard Jr., acquired the property along with his wife Klaudia and sister Anne and her husband Edmund Bullis. They held the property through the Derry Homestead Trust with Klaudia Shepard as trustee, until the gift to the town on October 3, 2000.

In September of 2006, Derek Hoyt, a Boy Scout from Troop 402, Saint Thomas Acquinas Church, in Derry built 3 picnic areas, a connecting trail and a sign on the Pond Road side of Shepard Park. Each picnic area is secluded from the others and each contains an 8 foot picnic table, a metal state park style grill, and a concrete pipe to dispose of ashes.

Management: The property is actively managed by the Derry Conservation Commission and a professional forester to provide forest products, improve wildlife habitat, and provide recreation opportunities as defined in the conservation easement. 

Pictures:

 

Updated 6/20/07