The Ursuline Sisters of Brown County on Jan. 29 granted an Agricultural Easement to the Southern Ohio Farmland Preservation Association (SOFPA) which will ensure that 83.368 acres of agricultural property in the village of St. Martin will remain available for agriculture forever.

The Ursuline Sisters have owned the property for more than 160 years and the 83 acres surrounds Chatfield College and the long-time motherhouse of the Brown County Ursulines. The signing of the easement culminates a process of several years in which the sisters sought to ensure their legacy is preserved.