Boscawen – Colby
High Street (Route 4)
309 acres of agricultural fields, forests, and wetlands
No guaranteed public access
December 2024
The Joseph and Barbara Colby Conservation Area protects 309 acres of agricultural fields, forests, and wetlands along Tannery Brook. The area is also an important bridge between two other large areas of public and conservation lands: more than 950 acres to the south, including the Gold Star Sod Farm (protected by the Forest Society) and the Merrimack River State Forest; and over 1,800 acres to the north, including the Merrimack County Farm, State Forest nursery lands, and the Stillhouse Forest Preserve (owned by the Forest Society).
Joe Colby is the third generation of the Colby family to live and work on this land. His grandfather, Joseph G. Colby, began a successful cattle, wood, and lumber business in the 1920s. Joseph G. eagerly acquired land as it became available and was a significant Boscawen landowner. Joe’s father, James F. Colby, founded the well-known Colby Lumber Company in Boscawen in the early 1950s and Joe and his brother Jim ran the business after their father retired. Sadly, the Colby Lumber sawmill was destroyed by fire in June 2024, just days before Joe and Jim planned to retire.
The Colby family has a long record of giving back to the community. Joe’s father served on many Boscawen town boards and committees and Joe served on the board of the NH Timberland Owners Association for 7 years. He has now given the Boscawen community a lasting gift of land conservation.
Growing up in a family with a long history in the forestry and lumber business and now living in the quintessentially New England Colby family farmhouse on rural High Street, Joe appreciates the value of working forest, agricultural lands, and the recreational opportunities available. His generous donation of a conservation easement in memory of his wife Barbara ensures that future generations will benefit from the same values and opportunities that both Joe and Barbara have enjoyed.
Transaction funding for this project was provided, in part, by the Merrimack Conservation Partnership, a public/private effort for land conservation in the Merrimack River Watershed. To learn more, visit merrimackconservationpartnership.org.
