Cornish -- The Saint-Gaudens Historic Site has accepted the donation of the 43-acre Blow-Me-Down Farm, which previously belonged to a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the memory of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the famed sculptor.

Saint-Gaudens Superintendent Rick Kendall called the farm a great asset with lots of potential, but said the National Park Service has yet to formulate a plan for its nine buildings, fields and Connecticut River frontage across Route 12A from the Blow-Me-Down Mill and the historic site.

Cornish residents greeted the transfer with mixed reactions: Some lauding the effort to preserve history for the greater good; others lamenting the loss of $17,000 in annual property taxes.

A variety of possible uses for the property have been batted around, said Kendall, who took over as head of Saint-Gaudens in January. The farm could give room for an expanded sculptor-in-residence program, and the large red barn could be fitted for studios. The massive mansion could also house artists and sculptors in residence, he said, and the old dance hall could be a community meeting space, but not until suitable heating is installed. River access for canoes and leasing the land to an outside vendor are also on the table.

The property will be open sporadically for walking tours while the plan is formulated, and during a commemoration and deed transfer ceremony July 11.

The farm was the residence of Charles Beaman, a New York City attorney who introduced Saint-Gaudens to the area and helped establish the Cornish Colony, a group of artists, writers, musicians and art patrons who gathered from the 1880s through the 1930s. The Saint-Gaudens Memorial, a nonprofit formed 90 years ago to maintain a living memorial to the sculptor, acquired Blow-Me-Down Farm in 1998. Plans for the transfer, announced this week, have been in the works for months.

In 2007, the Saint-Gaudens Memorial requested proposals for uses of the farm. While the proposals ran the gamut, none resonated with the memorial, Kendall said.

One thing is clear: The buildings -- including the red barn, the Chauncey cottage, a dance hall, butler building and blacksmith shop -- will need a great deal of restoration work, the exact scope and cost of which is yet to be determined.

“Taking on management of the additional structures is not going to be cheap, but it's going to greatly enhance the value of the site,” Kendall said.

Townhouse Road resident George Aldrich worried about the cost of project, but from a slightly different perspective.

“I hate to see something taken off the tax rolls because my tax rate goes up,” said Aldrich. “I'm kind of skeptical when people donate property, because every time it costs money, no matter how you look at it.”

To plug that gap in taxes, a five-acre portion of the original 48 acres was subdivided and will be sold for residential use, Kendall said.

The parcel in the property's northern corner is on a bench above the river. A one-time, change-of-use tax was assessed on the five acres, to the tune of $9,000.

The property won't generate the taxes that the farm did, but with a house on the land, it should generate substantial revenue for the town, former Selectboard Chairwoman and current Cornish resident Merilynn Bourne said, noting that she would personally have preferred a conservation easement that kept the larger farm parcel on the tax rolls and also guaranteed its continuation as a working farm.

“But I think the park plan will keep it pretty much as it is,” Bourne said.

Don Snowden, a member of the town's conservation commission, called the Blow-Me-Down Farm an integral part of Saint-Gaudens, and said he's glad it won’t be broken up and sold.

“There's always people that think everything should be on the tax rolls, but they don't look at the common good,” Snowden said. “It will become part of the national park system, and that's a good use for it.”

Selectboard Chairman John Hammond said there are questions about what preservation should mean.

“In the mid 1990s, they came out with a long-term plan to turn the Blow-Me-Down Mill into a visitors center, really changing the feeling of the property,” Hammond said. “The Selectboard held a hearing and there was a pretty strong turnout, and people were overwhelmingly not in favor of the plan.”

Bourne also recalled the rumors of paved parking lots and masses of tour buses. The fears never materialized; the visitor center was never built.

But worries about long-term plans for the area appear to have lingered for some.

“It would have a significant impact on the town and we'd love to have some input,” Hammond said.

Kendall said the site's long-term management plan, created in 1996, may be amended. And while it is too early to know what form the collaboration will take, the community and Selectboard will have a seat at the table when the fate of the Blow-Me-Down farm is determined, he said.

The future of the property will be decided, he said “by a large cast of individuals.”

Bret Yager can be reached at byager@vnews.com, or 603-727-3209.