Photo by Travis Pratt The Guyton family owns 200 acres of land just outside of Burkitsville and has agreed to put most of the land into a conservation preservation.

A state program will make sure it stays that way. The Rural Legacy program provided most of the $1.5 million needed to put the 210-acre Guyton Farm into farmland preservation.

"It is a success story," said Timothy Blaser, program administrator for Frederick County's Land Preservation program. "The Guyton farm was always top priority."

It wasn't easy. Wayne and Patricia Guyton, who could not be reached for comment, did not ask to become part of the program.

"It was always us going to him," Blaser said.

The Guytons agreed, however, and signed the documents in February. They received $1.5 million in exchange for promising not to develop their land into perpetuity.

"I deal with a lot of folks who generally don't want to get involved in government programs," Blaser said.

Still, many longtime farmers don't want to see farmland disappear into housing developments, and the Guytons have farmed the land for many years.

Henry Burkitt, for whom Burkittsville is named, established the farm in 1836. The farmhouse sits on Main Street in Burkittsville , home to about 200 people. The farm fans out behind the house, bordering the northern half of Burkittsville and straddling both sides of Md. 17. Once a dairy farm, the land is used to grow crops.

"This is one of the rare places where the intact village has not been affected by suburban development," Blaser said. "It was always on everyone's radar screen."

Value is calculated with a point system. Blaser said it's fair to ask taxpayers to pay for the land because land preservation gives something back to the public.

"If everyone wanted it preserved, they should be willing to foot the bill," he said. "It benefits the public."

Farmers who sell their land for development get handsome financial compensation, but the development process can be expensive. New developments also cost communities more for services they put out than they bring in through taxes, Blaser said. Developers will dispute that.

The money to pay for the Rural Legacy program is provided through transfer taxes from land and real estate sales and refinancing. That pool of money has shrunk considerably in the past year as housing sales and values have dropped, Blaser said. At the same time, more farmers are willing to consider preserving their land.

"This would be a great time to buy a lot of easements if we had the funds," he said.

The county hopes to preserve 100,000 of its 400,000 acres in some sort of preservation or conservation program by 2020. Currently, about 42,000 acres have been preserved.

"We're way behind on our acquisition needs," Blaser said.

There's still one more farm of about 200 acres around Burkittsville that Blaser hopes will join the Rural Legacy program. There's a patchwork quilt of farmland in the region that has been preserved through a variety of programs, Blaser said.

Historical legacy

Paul Gilligan was mayor of Burkittsville in the 1990s when attempts began to preserve the Guyton farm. Gilligan is also a local expert on the battle that swirled around Burkittsville and the Guyton farm.

"We have over 250 years of existence," he said.

The village, one of the smallest municipalities in Maryland, is well-preserved. Residents want to keep it that way. The housing developments that line the fringes of most small towns in Frederick County are absent around Burkittsville .

Burkittsville Mayor Debby Burgoyne said she was relieved when the Guytons agreed to preserve their farm.

"It will help Burkittsville maintain its rural character," she said.

From the Guyton farm, Crampton's Gap is in plain view, Gilligan said. Union soldiers crossed the farm, which was then owned by J.D. Garrott. They began their ascent up South Mountain, in what became known as the Battle of South Mountain. The goal was to cross through the gap, or pass, travel south through Pleasant Valley and attack Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson, who was entrenched at Maryland Heights.

Regiments from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, nearly 12,000 troops in all, crossed the Guyton Farm. A much smaller Vermont regiment marched up Main Street and crossed Gilligan's property at the west end of town.

Those soldiers, led by Gen. William Franklin, were hoping to surprise Jackson from behind and prevent him from attacking the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, W.Va. It didn't happen, however, because Franklin hesitated. Harpers Ferry fell, 12,000 Union soldiers were taken prisoner, and Jackson's well-armed soldiers headed up to Antietam Creek to meet Gen. Robert E. Lee.

"It was the largest single surrender of the Civil War," Gilligan said of the Harpers Ferry Union defeat.