With the conservation easement, the farm — known locally as the Dell Farm, and owned by residents Cammy and Jim Grote — will remain agricultural in perpetuity. (Photo: Google Maps)
Tecumseh Land Trust secures Dell Farm
- Published: July 7, 2025
Last week, local farmland conservation nonprofit Tecumseh Land Trust announced that the group secured an easement on 36 acres of land near the intersection of state routes 343 and 370, less than two miles east of Yellow Springs limits.
With the conservation easement, the farm — known locally as the Dell Farm, and owned by residents Cammy and Jim Grote — will remain agricultural in perpetuity.
“We are thrilled to have protected a key Country Commons property that connects other preserved lands, furthering the greenbelt vision,” wrote TLT Executive Director Michele Burns in a press release.
The concept of the Country Commons dates back over half a century ago: In 1961, the Village Planning Commission first proposed a greenbelt to buffer Yellow Springs from suburban sprawl, and in 1962, when then-Glen Helen Director Ken Hunt initiated the commons plan to protect the land bordering the nature preserve and John Bryan State Park.
“At that time, community members were concerned about protecting greenspace around the village,” Burns wrote. “The County Commons was where property owners neighboring these public spaces made handshake agreements to keep their lands as open space.”
Later that plan included properties along the Jacoby Creek to the west of Yellow Springs, and Whitehall Farm to the north of the village — taken together, these and other permanently agricultural lands amount to the Yellow Springs Greenbelt.
Since its formation in 1990, TLT has partnered with 215 local families and organizations to conserve more than 38,000 acres of land and 61 stream miles in Clark, Greene and surrounding counties.
For more information, go to http://www.tecumsehlandtrust.org.
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