Clock Ticking on ‘Save Eaton View’ Campaign

From the Conway Daily Sun

Eaton—July 25, 2026—The Eaton Village Preservation Society has launched a 30-day campaign to raise $500,000 to purchase 116 acres on Lyman Mountain and prevent a proposed timber harvest they say would alter one of New England’s most recognizable viewscapes.

The wooded mountainside forms the backdrop to Crystal Lake and Eaton’s Little White Church, a view that has appeared in countless photographs and has drawn visitors to the village for generations.

Society President Kevin Flynn said a purchase-and-sale agreement was signed Tuesday with the land owners in question, and the required deposit has been made, giving the non-profit about 30 days—until approximately Aug. 20—to secure funding needed to complete the purchase.

“If we succeed, this view will be protected forever,” Flynn said.

Tax-deductible donations may be made at savetheview.org. More information is also available through the Eaton Village Preservation Society’s website, eatonvillagepreservation.org.

The fundraising effort comes after property owners Vicki Fadden and Harold Whitaker filed an intent to cut timber with the state in May.

The landowners, who purchased the property for $300,000 in April, said the harvest would produce about 500 tons of hardwood and aspen, 100 tons of pine, 100 tons of hemlock, 4,000 tons of biomass chips and 300 cords of firewood.

Efforts to get comment from Fadden on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

The proposed logging operation sparked widespread concern in Eaton earlier this summer. More than 80 residents packed a meeting at the Little White Church to discuss potential impacts on the iconic view, water quality, wildlife habitat and flooding.

Residents John Hartman, a conservative, and Quddus Snyder, a liberal columnist, joined to oppose the project and urged selectmen to seek assistance from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.

Fadden and Whitaker purchased the land from RJ2 Trust, run by the heirs of the late Pauline Thoms. Thoms was Snyder’s grandfather Robert Thoms’ second wife. The heirs still own 350 acres on Lyman Mountain.

Hartman said his property has experienced flooding in recent years and worries removing trees from the mountainside will allow more runoff.

In June, selectmen’s chair Richard Fortin said there is $27,000 in capital reserve and $40,000 in conservation funds that could be applied to the purchase. On Wednesday, Fortin said the town has not been approached by the preservation society.

Selectmen meet again on Aug. 4. “We are waiting to hear from them as to whether they need us to consider (giving them money) or if they are on their own and raising it themselves,” said Fortin.

Executive Joe Kenney (R-Wakefield) said he has reached out to The Conservation Fund’s New Hampshire and Vermont Director, Sally Manickian, to explore Nature Fund offering bridge loan in order to provide immediate funding.

“I appreciate the landowners being willing to sell the property. I think it shows good faith, and I hope that we can get the resources to the forefront in that amount of time,” said Kenney

Little White Church Board President Dana Cunningham said Wednesday: “While the Little White Church, as an organization, will not be conducting fundraising efforts, the board of directors has a mission to preserve and care for this historic and iconic landmark. That mission extends beyond the building itself to the landscape that has framed and defined it for generations.”

“Protecting the integrity of the surrounding land and watershed is essential to preserving the timeless view and sense of place that have made the church one of New Hampshire’s most treasured and photographed sites.”