The 21-acre Idlewild Farm is nestled in the heart of Lower Merion Township, a reminder of the area’s rural past. The Bridlewild Trail connects Idlewild to the nearby Saunders Woods, also a Natural Lands Trust Preserve, and to a wider system of trails that wind throughout the community.

History
Idlewild Farm was originally part of the Welsh Tract, a 40,000-acre Quaker settlement. In 1898 the property was purchased by Frances Baugh Saunders, who converted it to a dairy farm. In 1924, Frances’ son Lawrence and his wife Dorothy moved to the farm, where they raised their five children. In 1990, Dorothy Saunders, who had lived on the farm until that time, donated the property to NLT. She also donated the nearby “Little Farm”, which was renamed Saunders Woods. Idlewild Farm is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an intact country gentleman’s farm.

Highlights
Idlewild Farm contains a mix of forests and former agricultural fields that have been converted to meadows. The meadows are dominated by cool-season grasses, but we have successfully added Butterfly weed and some warm-season grasses into this cover. The native stands of forest on the property are mainly mixed hardwoods, but there are a few old stands of conifers.