Chute Conservation Easement Protects Land and History
Burt Township, Cheboygan County

From Fall 1997 newsletter

This summer, Margaret Chute of Burt Lake ensured that her family’s corner of the earth would forever remain untouched by the hand of development. Ninety-four years of family land stewardship culminated in a conservation easement that Margaret and her family placed on their farmland. The Little Traverse Conservancy was eager to enable the protection of more than 70 acres of property along Burt Lake in Cheboygan County. The easement works to achieve both conservation and family goals. It preserves scenic natural resources and confirms that the historical farmland and house, which has been the Chute legacy for 94 years, will not be changed.

A visit to the Chute property offers glimpses of the deeply rooted past of this land. The house is over 100 years old, and the property contains bits and pieces of the old life that existed on this site. Antique farm equipment and several original farm structures add to the historical features on this property. Magnificent poplar trees, planted over 100 years ago, stand as mute testimony to the passage of time. Margaret Chute, having lived at “Fresh Breeze” for almost 30 years and spending all her childhood summers at her grandfather’s property, is herself a local historical landmark.

Margaret explains the history of the Fresh Breeze property as originating with a German homesteader that claimed 80 acres in 1882. In 1885, a German architect from Detroit purchased two acres, and later the lake frontage, for less than $1 an acre. He constructed the unique structure that exists on the property today: a seven sectioned house that he opened as a hotel. The days of the hotel concluded when the mortgage was due and the property went up for sale. In September of 1903 Albert and Edward Weatherhead purchased the property, and this land has been in the family ever since. The old beams and primitive but enduring construction are testament to how well built the structures are.

Margaret’s decision to protect this natural land honors the memory of her mother, who also worked to achieve this goal. In 1966, the 80 acre parcel adjacent to “Fresh Breeze” was slated for development as a mobile home park, containing 92 trailer plots. Margaret’s mother sold four lakefront lots in order to buy the property from the developers. Her purchase ensured that the area would remain an agricultural and scenic resource; a perpetual contribution to her family and the local community. “Mother wanted to protect the land,” Margaret remembers, “and now it’s up to us to take care of it and preserve it.”

The Little Traverse Conservancy enabled Margaret to accomplish this goal, exemplifying the spirit of the Chute land heritage. The conservation easement satisfies several equally important objectives. It provides a means for family members to pass the land to future generations and also offers historical, scenic, and agricultural value that is increasingly difficult to find. The document stipulates that the land be used exclusively for agricultural purposes, in the tradition of land use on this parcel. The residential area, the house, barn, bunk house and poplars, will remain unchanged. They will stand as dedications to human appreciation of land and history.


Above left: former Conservancy staff member Will Brune shown with, from left, Maggie Chute, Laura Chute Galdan (Maggie's niece, and Anne Chute Waldorf (Maggie's sister).
Right: Aerial view of the Fresh Breeze property on Burt Lake. Weatherhead Road runs through the middle of the picture. Fresh Breeze is situated to the left of the road. The 150 acres on the right side of Weatherhead Road is preparing for a conservation easement. The far left in green is also a 20-acre conservation easement. All told, 240 contiguous acres are protected.

Year protected: 1997
Total acreage today: 70 acres
Total shoreline: 170 feet frontage Burt Lake