After several years on the market, historic Greenwood Plantation found a new owner, one dedicated to continuing its impressive conservation legacy.
Emily “Paddy” Vanderbilt Wade purchased 4,000 acres of the Greenwood Plantation from the Whitney family for $22 million. Located near Thomasville, Georgia, this quail hunting mecca features 1,200 acres of carefully managed old-growth forest known as the Big Woods. In addition, Greenwood boasts a storied history since its founding in the 1830s.
Wade owns nearby Arcadia Plantation, which has a 200-acre stand of old-growth forest, known as the Wade Tract Preserve. The Greenwood Research Foundation, a nonprofit set up by Wade and her family to purchase and manage Greenwood, will chart a similar course with the Big Woods.
Originally developed by one of the area’s earliest settlers, Greenwood was acquired by the Whitneys in 1899. Keeping the land intact was of the utmost importance to the Whitneys, who sold the property in order to focus on human rights and peace efforts. Before her death, Betsey Whitney told Greenwood land manager Leon Neel, “You take care of my trees!” Wade has every intention of doing so.
“There’s no place like Thomasville. There’s no other large mass of contiguous plantations of like-minded philanthropists and conservationists who own land in the common good for the benefit of wildlife propagation,” says Jon Kohler of Jon Kohler & Associates. “And that’s important for the entire ecosystem. You have 300,000 acres dedicated to increasing wildlife and wild ecosystems.”
Land Report 2015 Conservation Deal of the Year: Greenwood Plantation in Thomas County, Georgia
Seller: Greentree Foundation
Seller’s Broker: Jon Kohler, Jon Kohler & Associates
Buyer: Greenwood Research Foundation
Buyer’s Broker: Jon Kohler, Jon Kohler & Associates
