Sengie Forever!
This spectacular corner of Sengekontacket is a perfect companion to Felix Neck and Pecoy Point. Yes, the trails are well worth a visit particularly for salt marsh lovers, but paddlers exploring the pond also appreciate the public shoreline.
Sheriff’s Meadow Says:
The Caroline Tuthill Preserve is an expanse of over 150 acres of oak and pitch pine forest, wooded wetlands, salt marsh and open meadow. Sengekontacket Pond and Beach Road flank the Preserve to the north; the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road flanks the Preserve to the south. Generously given to Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation by John and Nora Tuthill between 1972 and 1983, the Caroline Tuthill Preserve is the largest single gift of land received by Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation in its history.
Getting there: From the Triangle intersection in Edgartown, travel 0.4 miles west on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road to roadside parking and a kiosk. From the four-way stop at the junction of the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road and Barnes road, travel east 3.7 miles on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road to the roadside parking and kiosk.
Getting there:
From the Triangle intersection in Edgartown, travel 0.4 miles west on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road to roadside parking and a kiosk. From the four-way stop at the junction of the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road and Barnes road, travel east 3.7 miles on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road to the roadside parking and kiosk.
About the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation:
In the 1950s, Henry Beetle Hough and his wife Elizabeth Bowie Hough wanted to save the little meadow and ice pond that they could see from their Edgartown window. There was talk of “Sheriff’s Meadow,” as the field was called, being carved up for houses, and the Houghs spent $7,500 to buy it. “I had $7,500 from magazine rights from the Women’s Home Companion for a book,” said Mr. Hough, who was the long-time editor of the Vineyard Gazette. “It was the only time I ever had $7,500 at one time, so we decided to preserve the ice pond and its surroundings.”
Once they had the pond and field, however, the Houghs could not find a organization to take it and manage it for public use. Hence the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, which has grown over the decades into perhaps the premier local non-profit, non-government land trust. With seventeen properties of various sizes all over the Island, the SMF owns more than 2,000 acres and has conserved another 600 through easements and restrictions.
Find out more at www.sheriffsmeadow.org.
