New London
An only child who never married, Libby Trayner died on March 1, at age 100. She named Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust in her will, giving the nonprofit an easement on the land on Shaker Street and Mountain Road.
The property, which is mostly forested, includes “valuable agricultural and forestry soils” and a maintained field, according to a news release from Ausbon Sargent. Trayner moved with her parents in 1949 to the home she built on the property.
The conservation easement allows for low-impact recreational activities on the land, which is near the Low Plain Natural Area and across the road from another conserved property, Debbie Stanley, the land trust’s executive director, said in an interview.
An independent woman who took care of herself, Trayner continued snowblowing her driveway well into her 90s, Stanley said. When the time came that she needed help, her neighbors stepped up. They “were devoted to Libby,” Stanley said. “They brought her meals. They really all took care of her.”
Trayner specified that her property, which also includes a 4-acre homestead area, be sold after she died. The 22-acre property, including her two-bedroom home, is listed for $315,000, through the William Green Real Estate agency in New London. It is currently under contract, the agency’s owner, Bill Green, said.
Proceeds from the sale will benefit a number of local and national nonprofits Trayner was “very fond of,” including Ausbon Sargent, Stanley said. The next landowner will have to abide by the easement restrictions.
Trayner first talked with the nonprofit about conserving the land in 1988, Stanley said. She attended the organization’s annual meeting until she was in her mid-90s.
“At the end, Libby got her way,” her longtime friend and neighbor Gerry Gold said in the release. “She had brought her parents to New Hampshire to build their shared home and survive the economic struggles of the 1930s,” Gold said. And she succeeded in giving her part of the state “a gift of the land she loved.”
Ausbon Sargent holds easements totaling 11,117 acres on 139 properties in its 12-town catchment area. A map of the areas is at ausbonsargent.org. — Aimee Caruso