No, it’s not just another obscure Jurassic Park mosquito-in-amber reference. The Schmidt family has lived on their Plymouth farmland since current resident Roger Schmidt’s great-grandfather Frederick Henry Benjamin Schmidt bought it for his son, Otto in 1883. Roger Schmidt was born on the property and has lived there all of his 86 years. He bought 5 acres from his father Gordon (who was also born on the farm), who’d previously inherited a portion of the 180-acre space from Otto.
To preserve that legacy, Schmidt donated 2.7 of his acres to the city last summer. Even with this generous gift, one thing remains the same: “The Schmidts will continue to use the trees to make maple syrup,” director of parks and recreation Diane Evans says. “The donated parcel will be designated as Schmidt Woodlands Park.”
Schmidt says he wanted to donate the property because he loves it. “It’s a beautiful woodland,” he says, “and if I didn’t donate, it would eventually be developed into housing. I want the city to keep it so others can enjoy it the way I do.” Plymouth Parks and Recreation intends to honor the Schmidts’ wishes. “It’s going to become a part of our parks system,” Evans says. “We’ll be maintaining and managing, and building a few walking paths, but mostly we just want to preserve the space.”
