Francis Rand settled in Sandy Beach (became Rye in 1726) in 1641. He arrived in New Hampshire as one of Mason’s men. The colony that became the state of New Hampshire was founded on the division in 1629 of a land grant given in 1622 by the Council for New England to Captain John Mason (former governor of Newfoundland) and Sir Ferdinando Gorges (who founded Maine). The colony was named New Hampshire by Mason after the English county of Hampshire, one of the first Saxon shires.

Francis Rand settled on what is now Wallis Road. He had 8 children by the time he was killed in 1691 by Indians. One of his sons, Joshua, married Ruth Moses in 1738 and, upon her death, married Ruth Seavey in 1771. This name will sound familiar as we discussed the Seavey family when we walked Seavey Acres earlier this year.

This land has been in the Rand family for generations and was once part of a busy lumber mill. Just until recently, Rand Lumber was one of the few lumber mills producing rough cut pine boards.

This conservation land consists of 71 acres. There are two access points, one is at the beginning of Sea Glass Land and the other is at the end of Liberty Common. This parcel of land was purchased in 2014 for $1.2m through a bond warrant article approved by the Town of Rye in 2014.