Westerly — The Westerly Land Trust has purchased a six-acre woodland parcel along the Pawcatuck River, increasing its extensive holdings of riverfront preservation land.

“We own it, and everybody's happy. It look a long time,” said Harvey C. Perry, president of the 20-year-old trust, which owns about 700 acres of waterfront property.

Perry said Sunday the property's previous owners, siblings Rosemarie and Karl Anderson, were willing sellers. He said the two, who long ago moved to other states, grew up in the house that is adjacent to the land, and they wanted to see the Potter Hill Road property preserved rather than subdivided for two homes.

“Both needed to sell the property to fund their retirement plans,” Perry said of the Andersons, who are in their 60s. “They were going to sell the property but they gave us a shot at it until they put it on the market.”

Perry said it took two years to raise the money and finalize the $300,000 sale. The trust received three grants: $125,000 from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, $100,000 from the Forrest and Frances Lattner Foundation and $75,000 from the Bafflin Foundation.

The property, which is situated in the former mill community between the river and Potter Hill Road, will be named the Anderson Preserve and will be available for the public to visit. The trust plans to post signs along the curving road in the upcoming months.

The property, which features stately oak trees and a seasonal pond, slopes gently toward about 100 yards of beach and a 16-foot-deep portion of the river.

“It's a nice swimming hole,” Perry said.

The trust purchased the land as part of its Pawcatuck River Corridor Project, which aims to provide residents with scenic recreation sites as well as protect the quality of the river and its underlying aquifer, the source of drinking water for most of Westerly and Pawcatuck, Perry said.

The trust is currently looking to acquire another 21/2-acre parcel along the river. The majority of the trust's 1,000 total acres throughout Westerly border the river. “We probably have more than 3 miles of river frontage,” Perry said.

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