George A. "Frolic" Weymouth, visionary conservationist, philanthropist, artist, and sportsman, died on April 24, 2016. In 1967, Weymouth and two friends purchased two parcels of land in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania totaling forty-seven acres that were threatened with industrial development. That act of preservation marked the start of the organization that was to become the Brandywine Conservancy. That conservancy, led by Weymouth, and the nearby Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds, led by Mrs. John B. Hannum, MFH, saved the Cheshire hunting country when the King Ranch was sold off. Their success served as a model and inspiration for other conservation-minded foxhunting clubs across North America to preserve their open space and educate their juniors.
Today, the Brandywine Conservancy is one of the leading land trusts in country, with 62,000 acres of land permanently protected in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Weymouth received the MFHA/Chronicle of the Horse Conservation Award in 2013, just one of numerous other awards received for his contributions to land preservation and the arts.
