If you have ever walked, skied, or snowshoed the trails at Haumerson’s Pond (FRIENDS OF HAUMERSON'S POND), you enjoyed property that the Foundation helped to purchase. In 1994, the Foundation and the City of Fort Atkinson, WI-Government worked together to purchase land from the Patricia Schwartz Trust. The 38-acre parcel abutted Haumerson’s Pond to the south and west and was adjacent to the Bark River. The Foundation provided a grant for half of the purchase price from our donor-advised Kerschensteiner Family Fund. In fact, fund advisor Mark Kerschensteiner felt so strongly that the city should purchase the property, he even convinced the Foundation Board to offer to loan the remaining half to the city to complete the purchase, if needed.
As part of the purchase agreement, the City committed to use the property as a passive recreational area, hence the Bark River Nature Park.
In the spring of 1995, Mark again used his fund to purchase a strip of land that was often referred to as the ‘carp-pen property.’ This piece divided the land recently purchased from the Schwartz Trust and Mark’s acquiring it put the final bow on the project.
We are grateful to Mark for having the vision to help create our own little nature preserve within city limits.
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