RICHMOND – The state has purchased 84.5 acres of land along Arcadia Road to be preserved as public parkland in the Arcadia Management Area, the R.I. Department of Environmental Management announced. The purchase price was $600,000.

The 16,000-acre Arcadia Management Area is the most heavily used, public recreation land in the state, known for hiking, canoeing and fishing. The purchase was a major holding within the area, with three-quarters of a mile of frontage on the Wood River and Frying Pan Pond.

The purchase by the department was funded by a combination of state borrowing and U.S. Department of Transportation money.

The seller was the Winsor family, which purchased the property in 1957. A house on the property will remain in place.

“DEM is delighted that we have been able to secure this valuable property that will help safeguard the ecologically diverse Wood River and wetland system adjacent to Frying Pan Pond,” said DEM Director Janet Coit. •