By Dakota Antelman, Managing Editor
WESTBOROUGH – The Zwicker Farm Conservation Area in Westborough is rich in history.
While dedicating the space in honor of two of its beloved former owners on May 1, though, local officials were just as much focused on the future.
“The conservation commission is both proud and privileged to steward this land in perpetuity,” said Westborough Conservation Commission Chair Andy Koenigsberg during the event.
Zwicker Farm is a property just off Belknap St, near Westborough’s border with Hopkinton. It spans 31-acres and consists of open meadows, wetlands, old hayfields and trails.
Historically, it was home to Albert and Dorothy Zwicker, who ran a dairy farm in the 1940s after buying their land in 1938.
Last fall, Westborough voters approved a deal to purchase the land from the Zwicker’s granddaughter Deb Houlden-Engvall at a price tag of $1 million.
As voters celebrated the purchase, Pastor John Wellesly Taylor, who counted the Zwicker’s as part of his congregation before they passed away, imagined they would be happy with their property’s new life.
“I believe she’s smiling from heaven for this to happen today,” he said of Dorothy in particular.
These days, the farm is open to the public and under the management of the Conservation Commission. As they promote the space as a place to connect with nature, town officials are planning to link Zwicker Farm into the larger Westborough Charm Bracelet.
The Charm Bracelet, in turn, is a town-wide trail system aimed to connect open spaces in Westborough. Work on the Charm Bracelet has been ongoing since 2000, focusing on a three tiered approach.
Officials want to maintain a 28-mile loop as the backbone of their project. From there, they want to complete a “network of side trails to interconnect every open space, recreation area, school, and neighborhood.” Then, they want additional trails connecting Westborough to its neighboring communities.
Zwicker Farm sits just to the northeast of the Bowman Conservation Area, which is already listed as part of the Charm Bracelet.
As others delved deep on specific plans for the Farm’s future, Koenigsberg reiterated the Conservation Commission’s commitment to its maintenance.
“The Conservation Commission will do its very best to be good stewards of the property, to work with other organizations and the town to manage the land to make sure that it can be enjoyed by everyone in every season forever,” he said.
