Sheriff's Meadow Pond lies south of John Butler's Mudhole.

Located off of Plantingfield Way in Edgartown, Sheriff’s Meadow Sanctuary is the namesake property of Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation and was indeed a meadow belonging to a sheriff. In the 1850s, the property belonged to Sheriff Isaiah Pease and became known as the Sheriff’s Meadow. A hundred years later, Sheriff’s Meadow had the benefit of having Henry Beetle Hough and Elizabeth Bowie Hough as neighbors. The Houghs, who owned and edited the Vineyard Gazette, lived on Pierce Lane and from the north window of their living room could chart the seasons by the changing colors of the meadow, the pond, and the adjacent John Butler’s Mudhole. In winters past, ice was cut from the frozen pond and stored in an icehouse. With the advent of electric refrigerators, the icehouse became irrelevant, and rumors swirled that Sheriff’s Meadow would be developed.

After Henry Hough sold the magazine rights to his latest book, Once More the Thunderer, the Houghs purchased the 10 acres that included Sheriff’s Meadow and protected the meadow, the ice house pond, and John Butler’s Mudhole from development. Mr. Hough later recalled, “I had $7,500 from magazine rights from the Women’s Home Companion for a book. It was the only time I ever had $7,500 at one time, so we decided to preserve the ice pond and its surroundings.” Because no conservation organization would accept a gift of land of this small size, the Houghs created Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation and gave to it the Sheriff’s Meadow. In 1959, Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation was chartered, and Sheriff’s Meadow Sanctuary was its first property.

Over the years, gifts from several neighbors, including Mary S. Fearey, Alida Carey Gulick, Marion M. Angevin, and Frederic, Peter, and Richard Behr helped expand the Sanctuary to almost 20 acres.

Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation is a microcosm of the triumphs and challenges associated with conservation on Martha’s Vineyard. Despite its relatively small size and proximity to the town, the Sanctuary supports a variety of natural communities and hosts some rare and unusual plants and animals. The Sanctuary also hosts a variety of invasive plants, including bittersweet, honeysuckle, and multiflora rose, and some are crowding out native species. Sheriff’s Meadow is in the final stages of a plan designed to remove the invasive plants and restore the meadows of the Sanctuary.

The public is welcome and invited to enjoy Sheriff’s Meadow Sanctuary from dawn to dusk by walking along the Ruth and Ed Brooks Trail. The Brooks Trail offers sweeping scenic views of Eel Pond and Nantucket Sound, as well as interior views of the Sheriff’s Meadow pond, John Butler’s Mudhole, and the surrounding environment. The Brooks Trail is also notable for its olfactory pleasures, especially in the spring. One’s nose is treated to one fragrance after another; some foreshadowing what awaits on the trail, as the aroma arrives before the view.