Macy Meadow

Preserve the Macy Meadow

In each of our communities, we have a place we treasure – an emblematic place that makes us feel like we are home the moment we see it. The Macy meadow at the top of Snake Hill Road is just that spot to many who pass it every day. Seasons are marked with the changing colors of the tall grasses and the leaves that cover those beautiful old trees.

Mrs. Macy raised her girls in that lovely historic house, once a part of the illustrious Jennings estate. She grew her flowers in the great, wide beds next to the barns. Mrs. Macy was one of the few people left in America who utilized the colonial method of drying fresh flowers, one by one in tiny cups of silica gel, then wired them individually and expertly arranged them in special containers. Those arrangements were referred to as “everlastings” and adorned the homes of some of America’s most prominent families. She was adored by her community and famous for her craft as evidenced by articles published in national magazines.

For more than 60 years, the annual Fourth of July parade started at the corner of the Macy Meadow and ended in Mrs. Macy’s front yard. Each year an audience of children on bicycles and parents dressed in their red, white and blue gather to sing the My Country, “Tis of Thee” and to recite the Pledge of Allegiance followed by an address from an invited guest, bringing attention to a particular time in history.

At nearly 104 years of age, Mrs. Macy died earlier this year and her house was put on the market. Her neighbors, and many others in the community, were distressed by the potential loss of this very special corner of local life. They approached the Macy daughters to inquire if they would be willing to sell the development rights on the meadow to the community. The daughters were so touched by this sentiment that they agreed to make preservation of the meadow a condition of the sale. A purchase of development rights will ensure that the meadow never be developed and allow for the tradition of the Fourth of July parade to continue.

The cost to purchase the development rights on the 2-acre meadow from the Macy family and place a permanent conservation easement over the land is $200,000. To date, $150,000 has been raised to protect this historic meadow in perpetuity.

The community has a unique opportunity here to preserve a very special spot in the history of their neighborhood – an opportunity to maintain a tradition as everlasting as Mrs. Macy’s flowers, a charming way of life that has created indelible memories of support for our country’s heritage and for one-an-other in the minds of children and parents alike.

Please join members of your community who have already made tax-deductible contributions to the “Save the Meadow” fund administered by The North Shore Land Alliance. 

Thank you to all the individuals who have contributed to the Macy Meadow appeal.