Nation’s Oldest Trust at Center of Mass. Land Fight
February 27, 2012 | Read Time: 1 minute
A Massachusetts court is set to hear arguments Friday in case that could set aside a central tenet of the 351-year-old bequest that established America’s first charitable trust, writes the Associated Press.
William Payne, one of the state’s first settlers, left 35 acres of spectacular coastal property for the seaside town of Ipswich with the condition that the land be used to benefit local schoolchildren and never be sold. Rent from 167 vacation cottages built on the parcel has generated $2.4-million for schools in the past 25 years.
The Payne trustees want to convert the cottages to condominiums and sell them to the tenants to settle a 2006 lawsuit the lessees filed over rent increases. Ipswich residents went to court to block the deal, saying it violates the will and undervalues the land, thus shortchanging schools.
Backers of the settlement, including Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, say the trust can no longer carry out Mr. Payne’s wishes and the condo conversion and sale will safeguard the revenue stream for schools, as the colonial-era donor intended.
