Greenlawn, originally named Old Fields, is a hamlet in Suffolk...

Greenlawn, originally named Old Fields, is a hamlet in Suffolk County. This sign marks the entrance to the hamlet at the intersection of Broadway and Pulaski Road. (July 24, 2012) Credit: Amanda Ostuni

A plot of land in Greenlawn that was once a farm and home to horses, chickens and sheep that were kept to train border collies, has been bought by the Town of Huntington.

On May 10, the town closed on the $2.68 million purchase of the 12.4-acre Carpenter Farm on Oldfield Road. The town plans to use it as passive parkland and for educational purposes, including potential garden/farm use.

"The community strongly urged the town to purchase this property because of its historic and environmental value," town board member Mark Cuthbertson said. "I am pleased . . . an important part of Greenlawn's history will be preserved."

Cuthbertson, who sponsored the resolutions to make the purchase, was joined by Town Supervisor Frank Petrone, town board members Susan Berland and Mark Mayoka, members of Friends of the Carpenter Farm, and Bunny Hoest, widow of the farm's original owner.

The purchase was funded by the town's Environmental Open Space and Park Fund.

The farm, originally owned by Dr. Walter Carpenter, the first board-certified pediatrician in Suffolk County, was maintained as an organic operation since the late 1940s.

The town's Environmental Open Space and Park Fund committee and the Friends of the Carpenter Farm, a residents' group, recommended the purchase two years ago, after a developer expressed interest in buying the land for luxury homes. An earlier plan for a joint Suffolk County-town purchase fell through.

"I hope that both individuals and school groups will explore the property's rolling meadows and observe its native wildlife," Petrone said.

Improvements will likely include trails to access the site.

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