Hi Kat,

I can relate for we had nearly had a similar scare with my parent's place. We don't have anywhere near the history your family has but we hold the place close to our hearts.

My parents live on a 320 acre farm in New Limerick, Maine. If you look at a map of Maine you while see that New Limerick sits almost at the Northern end of I-95. There is an old stage road that runs through their property way back into thousands of acres of wild country. That road is the only access to that wilderness.

Back in the 1960's we built an extensive fence system for our horses. That included a gate across that road. For 25 years people who wanted to use that road happily negotiated that gate. Then a fellow from Rhode Island bought 700 acres around the end of County Road Lake and started to build a camp. He decided the gate was too much to deal with as a daily ritual and sued my parents for restricting access to his property.

His plan, as it turns out, was to open that area up for camps (cottages) on the lake. He wanted to make my parent's driveway the main road for all the people who would be building camps down there. He also wanted to put in a line of poles to run electrical and telephone serves down there. We are talking about a two mile run.

After a few years the case went before the Maine Supreme Court. He had lost on every count and appealed. The final ruling was that he could not get us to take down the gate and that anyone who wants to use the gate has to give my parents 24 hours notice. Dad made a point to let the idiot know that the requirement to notify will be required for access both ways, in to his property and out!

So take heart, Kat. Greed doesn't always win. Unfortunately it wins in too many instances. I hope this helps ease the pain.

Brett