Catawba Lands Conservancy protects 60 acres in Mountain Island Lake watershed

Charlotte, N.C. – Catawba Lands Conservancy has conserved 60 acres of land adjacent to the Gar Creek Nature Preserve in Mecklenburg County. The official name of the property is “Joseph Bennett McCoy Preserve.”

This property adds critical water quality protections for Gar Creek, a tributary of Mountain Island Lake, and nearly doubles the size of the Gar Creek Conservation Area already protected by the Conservancy. The Gar Creek Conservation Area protects the drinking water for over one million people in the Charlotte region, and is home to one of the oldest working farms in Mecklenburg County, McCoy Centennial Farm.

The 60 acres were generously donated to the Conservancy by Tom, Sally and Robin McCoy. The new preserve includes a 45-acre tract that was part of the original McCoy Farm as well as 15 acres that were purchased by Tom and Sally’s grandfather. The preserve is named for Tom and Sally’s grandfather and father, Joseph Bennett McCoy Sr. and Jr.

Tom remarked, “Beaty and Margaret Alexander McCoy came down the old wagon road from Cecil County Maryland to land straddling Gar Creek in northern Mecklenburg County in 1768. The McCoys were the first, and so far only, Europeans to settle on and work the land. Although it is sad to see ownership pass from the family, it is a joy to see it fall into the loving arms of Catawba Land Conservancy.”