Denville St. Francis Property Preservation: What Is Preserved and Planned

"Preserving a property of this size and importance in the center of Denville is an opportunity that may never come again," Mayor Tom Andes said in the township's announcement that it had acquired the first 17 acres of the St. Francis property. Most of what Denville is buying is land the township already uses and remembers. That includes the Pocono Fields, the barns and the old festival grounds. The new part, with walking trails and a restored barn, is still only a plan, and no date has been set for any of it.

This matters to anyone who drives through the intersection the township calls one of its busiest. The fields will look the same next spring. The bigger change is legal. Once the deed restrictions are in place, this corner can't be developed.

Two Parcels, Closing in an Unexpected Order

The deal has two phases.

According to Denville Now, Denville closed on the first 17.63 acres on August 28, 2026. That parcel sits at the corner of Diamond Spring Road and Pocono Road. It is the former St. Francis site, where most of the institutional buildings were torn down after the property was sold in 2022. What's left is open fields, woodland and scenery.

The second phase covers the land most residents actually use: the historic barns, the athletic fields and the festival grounds. In its late-August announcement, the township said it expected to finish buying that roughly 33-acre parcel in October. The council agendas for October 6 and October 20 did not include an item on the closing. The township's notices will confirm when the second closing has happened.

So the parcel already in public hands is the one people know mainly from driving past. The fields that host games every weekend are in the phase that was still pending this month.

Which Acreage Figure Is Right?

The two governments behind the deal give different totals.

Denville's own figure is "approximately 50 acres," which is 17 acres plus 33. In its May 4, 2026 release, Morris County says "more than 57 acres." The county counts the 17-acre St. Francis site plus "a 40-acre portion of 18 Pocono Road, including the Pocono Fields, barns and festival grounds." Neither release explains the seven-acre gap. Both describe the same two places. The county release also says both properties "will be permanently deed restricted as open space."

The money comes from three sources:

• Morris County Open Space Preservation Trust Fund. The county approved a $5.7 million grant, which it announced in November 2025.
• New Jersey Green Acres Program. It is named as a funding partner. The township's releases don't give the award amount.
• Denville Open Space and Recreation Trust Fund. This is the township's dedicated local fund.

On the township side, the February 17, 2026 council agenda included a bond ordinance that set aside $13.5 million for property acquisition. It authorized $6,761,500 in bonds or notes to pay for part of that cost. That figure is an appropriation and estimated cost, not a confirmed final price. Set against the county's $5.7 million, it shows that outside grants carry a large share of the cost and Denville's own borrowing covers much of the rest.

A Wall Street Investor, a Baseball Founder, Then Nuns

The township's announcement gives the property more than 130 years of history. It began as part of the Glover estate, known as Rockaway Farms. Later it was associated with Jeremiah G. Hamilton, the 19th-century Wall Street investor, and with Louis Fenn Wadsworth, one of the "Forefathers of Baseball." Early in the 20th century, the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother made it their home. It later became the St. Francis Residential Community.

For decades, the Pocono Road land and its festival grounds hosted festivals for St. Clare's Hospital and St. Francis. The best-documented was the St. Clare's Harvest Festival. A 2003 tribute in the Congressional Record marked its final run on Saturday, October 4, 2003, after 30 years. The tribute describes homemade food, local artisans, carnival rides and petting zoos, all run by community volunteers, with proceeds going to the hospital.

Those festival grounds are part of the parcel in phase two.

Why the Corner Stayed Open

The Daily Record reported a different plan for this site in 2022. That year it reported that Springpoint, then the owner, had proposed a 110-bed senior-care facility. A later Daily Record story said the facility would offer assisted living, memory care and long-term care. The proposal was later withdrawn, and the township turned to preservation. In its announcement, Mayor Andes thanked Springpoint, Morris County and the State of New Jersey as partners in the purchase.

Because of that history, the place looks much as it did before. The demolished buildings are gone. The barns, the fields and the long view across the open ground are still there.

What You Can Use This Fall, and What Is Still Only Planned

The Pocono Fields page lists on-site parking and dawn-to-dusk hours. Access can vary with scheduled activity, and organized groups need a permit to reserve a field. The page shows a "July 7" update date with no year, so check the township's current schedule before planning a game.

For the old St. Francis site, the township describes trails and passive recreation as goals, not as something already open. Its announcement includes no parking or walking instructions for that land. A sign or a township notice is the right signal that it is open. Being able to see the field from Diamond Spring Road is not.

The barns are the most distant part of the plan. The township calls them "a potential future community center." Separately, the township's current projects list shows a re-bid to renovate "a historic structure" into a community civic center, with bids opening November 10, 2026. That listing doesn't name the building, so it shouldn't be read as the barn project.

The Rest of Diamond Spring Road This Season

This stretch of Diamond Spring Road has another change underway, and it has its own 50-year history.

The Daily Record reported that Denville Pizzeria & Restaurant would change owners at the end of the day on August 29. It had been family-owned since 1976, when brothers-in-law Giovanni Battista Gambino and Gaetano Di Maggio opened it. The new owners, Chris and Kaitlyn Pietrowicz, are renaming it Boomer's Pizza & Provisions. According to the same report, they plan "an elevated neighborhood pizzeria" with seasonal menus and locally sourced ingredients. It will reopen after renovations, and no opening date has been announced. The outgoing families' farewell post on Instagram read, "We are happy to pass the tradition on to the Pietrowicz family."

Farther along the road, the Denville Public Library at 121 Diamond Spring Road is showing The Addams Family for its Friday Films program on October 30, from 1 to 3 p.m., according to Denville Now's Halloween guide.

Sueanne grew up in Mountain Lakes and has watched corners like this one shape how a town feels from year to year. If you own a home near Diamond Spring Road or Pocono Road and wonder how permanently preserved open space next door might factor into your home's value, Sueanne Sylvester would be glad to talk it through over a home valuation tailored to your street.