The Town of Parma will erect a historical marker to commemorate the purchase of an agricultural conservation easement on the 114-acre Martin Farm property located near the intersection of Burritt Road and South Avenue, just south of the Village of Hilton. Members of the Martin family, town and county officials, representatives from the Genesee Land Trust, and members of the town Farmland and Open Space Preservation Committee will gather on the Burritt Road site of the Martin Farm property on Thursday, June 21 at 4 p.m. to dedicate the historical marker, which will later be placed on the Hilton Parma Corners Road frontage.
The Martin Farm property was at one time the home farm of the Martin family, a family that has been farming in the Parma and surrounding communities for generations. The property contains prime agricultural soils and continues to be used for the production of a variety of grain and vegetable crops.
This is the first agricultural conservation easement secured under Parma’s Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan, adopted by the town board in April 2009. The easement, which permanently preserves the agricultural use of the property, is held in partnership with the Genesee Land Trust.
Preservation of the Martin Farm property was made possible through funding from Monroe County’s GreenSpace Initiative grant program. The required local matching funds were the subject of a referendum in which town residents voted 3-to-1 in favor of spending their local tax dollars to begin preserving Parma’s rural and agricultural character.
