Johnson Mill Nature Preserve

Specialties

Owned and managed by Triangle Land Conservancy, the 296-​acre Johnston Mill is open to the public for free every day of the year from dawn to dusk. This forested tract on the outskirts of Chapel Hill is a green oasis in the midst of a suburban area facing rapid growth and change. A walk in these woods transports visitors to an earlier time when water-​powered gristmills dotted New Hope Creek and the pace of life was just a little slower. We hope you spend an hour or an afternoon in this preserve and get acquainted with one of the most significant and scenic natural areas in Orange County.

History

Established in 2001.

In the late 1980s, the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program determined that numerous significant woodland and stream habitats along New Hope Creek were threatened by development, specifically identifying Johnston Mill as «one of Orange County’s most important natural areas.» In the late 1990s, the Triangle Land Conservancy launched the New Hope Creek campaign to protect the Johnston Mill property. The campaign netted $ 680,000; matched with a $ 2.75 million grant from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund, TLC was able to purchase the two tracts that now make up the preserve.

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«Swift Creek Bluffs Nature Preserve is also owned and managed by Triangle Land Conservancy.»

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«Horton Grove Nature Preserve is also owned and managed by Triangle Land Conservancy.»