Conserving Public Land

MTLC Success Stories

Indian Orchards

The Middletown Township Land Conservancy (MTLC) was formed in 1981 when a group of neighbors joined together to preserve from development the 36 acre Indian Orchard Girl Scout property which was being offered for sale. This natural area was one of the few available, undeveloped large tracts of land in a sea of houses and included 100 to 200 year old trees, three streams that are part of the Chester Creek watershed and a rich habitat for small animals and numerous migratory and nesting birds.

Herman and Edith Cope, who owned the adjacent farm, purchased the property in 1919. In 1932 the Girl Scouts were invited to use this wooded park for their camping area and, subsequently, purchased the property from the Swan family in 1952. Fred Swan married Sarah Cope in 1936 and they moved to the farm in 1972 when they retired. The Swan’s daughter, Nancy Bernhardt, and her family, the current owners of the farm, moved to the property in 1973. And so it was in 1981, that the Swans and Bernhardts and one of those concerned neighbors, Lou Fournier of Cricket Lane, became the prime movers in an effort to persuade the Township to purchase the former Girl Scout camp for a passive recreation park. The Township was awarded a grant of $75,000 from the Federal government, while a fund raising drive was begun by the newly incorporated Middletown Township Land Conservancy to supplement the Township funds necessary to reach the approximate $225,000 purchase price. Indian Orchard Park was officially dedicated by Township officials on September 21, 1985.

In 1995 David Lansdale, a charter member of MTLC, conveyed 4.7 acres of his land adjoining Indian Orchards Park to the Township. The walking trails of the park were extended through this additional acreage which became known as Lansdale’s Glen.

Linvill and Darlington

In 1987 a special binding referendum, Project 300 (which celebrated Middletown Township’s 300th anniversary of incorporation) won overwhelming approval from the voters and opened the way for the Township to acquire over three hundred acres of farmland owned by the Linvill and Darlington families. MTLC played a major role in changing attitudes about open space preservation in the Township.

Rocky Run

Also in 1987, MTLC became one of the holders of a perpetual easement for conservation purposes on a 34.7 acre parcel of land adjoining the Rocky Run Creek in the Township. Originally owned by Wawa, Inc., the parcel was part of a subdivision agreement with the Township. As a holder of the conservation easement, MTLC has a duty to enforce the conservation restrictions that have been placed on the property and of ensuring that the property remains in its natural state.

Elwyn Institute and Mineral Hill

In 1994 MTLC became aware that Elwyn Institute, Inc. was planning to develop a portion of their property know as Mineral Hill, which had long been recognized by land conservationists, mineral collectors, biologists and watershed advocates for its unique attributes. MTLC, the Chester-Ridley-Crum Watersheds Association, Upper Providence for Open Space and the Delaware County Safe Drinking Water Coalition organized to prevent the destruction of this sensitive watershed area adjacent to the Ridley Creek. The expertise of Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, Schmid Associates and Cahill Associates was obtained—financed by local residents. This resulted in the creation of a conservation analysis in 2006, which delineated the most sensitive areas of the property. In 2010 46.2 acres of the Mineral Hill property were purchased for $650,000 from Elwyn, Inc. with funding from a grant obtained by Natural Lands Trust through the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and funds from the citizens of Middletown Township.

On November 9, 2010, Delaware County officials dedicated the newly acquired Mineral Hill property as a new County park.  Combined with the adjoining Memorial Park in Middletown, the Lavin Tract and Louis Scott Park in Upper Providence, this property completes an approximately 100-acre site in the Ridley Creek watershed that preserves a wooded area which will protect our drinking water, provide a habitat for wildlife and open space for all to enjoy in perpetuity.

Local Partnerships

MTLC works closely with other groups to foster a regional approach to development because we share drinking water, roadways and schools.  Our partnerships included Residents for Middletown, Save Middletown, Upper Providence for Open Space and The Chester-Ridley-Crum Watersheds Association.  We have also worked to support of Friends of the Chester Creek Branch in their efforts to convert a former branch of the Pennsylvania Rail Road into a two-and-a-half-mile trail along the Chester Creek in Middletown.  Construction is now complete and the trail in use.  Engineering studies are underway to extend the trail into Aston.

New Leadership in 2024

MTLC has been led for the last 41 years the original group of kindred spirits, with little change in personnel. Until now. In the fall of 2023 the venerable MTLC veterans and land-preservation heros turned the leadership over to a new, mostly younger group with the mandate to give MTLC an institutional refresh. The core mission is the same—preserving the quality of outdoor life in Middletown Township—but we have expanded it. Our new website with a new name—Outdoor Middletown—that expresses our expanded mission. We welcome any Township residents who can pitch in and help us in little or big ways.

Outdoor Middletown and the next battle

There are a few large tracts of land remaining in Middletown Township that will be for sale, sooner or later. When they are, we want to be ready to counter the efforts of developers to turn them into shopping centers and high-density housing complexes. One of the reasons we’ve expanded to create Outdoor Middletown is to build up our membership so we’ll have the people-power and resources when the time comes for the next public conservation campaign.

Our mission, from the MTLC Charter: To promote and assist efforts to identify, preserve and enhance the scenic, historical, open space and outdoor recreation values of the physical environment of the Middletown Township region of Delaware County.

Middletown Township Land Conservancy is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax deductible.