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Morris County and Denville Township have permanently preserved more than 57 acres of open space through the St. Francis and Pocono Field Preservation Project, supported by a $5.7 million grant from the Morris County Open Space Preservation Trust Fund.
The project covers the 17-acre former St. Francis property on Diamond Spring Road and a 40-acre portion of 18 Pocono Road, which includes the Pocono Fields, the barns, and the festival grounds. Both properties will be permanently deed restricted as open space. Denville Township is expected to take ownership in July.
Township officials envision a community park at the St. Francis site and will continue recreational use of the Pocono Fields. The land carries deep local history. In 1895, the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother acquired the property and established the St. Francis Residential Community on the northern portion, while the southern parcel evolved from farmland into the recreational fields residents still use today. Parts of the preserved land also trace back to the historic Glover estate, established along the Rockaway River in the early 1800s by Col. John Heyward Glover.
Since 1994, the Morris County Open Space Trust Fund has helped preserve more than 18,440 acres across nearly all 39 municipalities, backed by over $300 million in voter-approved preservation tax funding.
The 2026 Open Space grant application cycle is now open through a new online portal. The deadline for applications and appraisals is Friday, June 12, 2026. Full details are available on the Morris County Open Space Preservation program page.
