Daniel & Carmela Bartolomei Conservation Area

Address: 667 Sandwich Rd, East Falmouth, MA 02536

The serendipity of topography, a paved driveway and a cleared area where a house once stood suggested a new opportunity for conservation land when the town purchased 6.87 acres overlooking the Coonamessett River from the children of Daniel and Carmela Bartolomei in June 2009.

The open area is on a gradual slope above the river and Pond 14, a small pond of about 5 acres; a level stretch of ground below the slope continues into woods to the edge of the property. The 300 Committee established the town’s first handicapped accessible trail on this level ground, with benches and a picnic table that accommodates wheelchairs, where visitors have a lovely view of the water. In addition, a trail for able-bodied visitors has been established at the back of the parcel, which dips down and up through a spring-sapping valley. This trail was created in 2010 by Ivan Abrams, a local teen working toward his Eagle Scout badge.

Bartolomei is another link in the creation of a Coonamessett River greenway, and apart from busy Sandwich Road, is just downriver from The 300 Committee's 10-acre River Bend Conservation Area. The property has been permanently protected with a conservation restriction. A partnership of funding sources made this $1 million acquisition possible. The town contributed $310,375 in Community Preservation Act funds; the state awarded a LAND grant of $473,625; The 300 Committee donated $200,000; and the remainder came from mitigation funds designated for open space by the Cape Cod Commission.

Access to the Bartolomei Conservation Area is on Sandwich Road, just north of the intersection with John Parker and Turner Roads.