Tennessee State Parks officials today announced the addition of 144 acres to T.O. Fuller State Park, a donation to the park by philanthropists Hugh and Margaret Jones Fraser and the Carrington Jones family of Memphis.
“We are fortunate to have such wonderful conservationists as Hugh and Margaret Jones Fraser and the Carrington Jones family, and we want to thank them for this generous gift to our state parks,” Jim Bryson, deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), said. “T.O. Fuller State Park holds a special place in the history of our parks and is the only state park in Memphis. This will be a great addition.”
Carrington Jones and his son, William Carrington Jones, who died in 2018, owned, farmed, and developed land near the park. Margaret Jones Fraser and her brother, Mason Jones, visited the park as children and developed a love of the outdoors. The family wants to give back to the community and is donating various parcels of land. The donation is a chance to expand and protect a community asset while providing educational and recreational opportunities.
Non-profit partners The Land Trust for Tennessee and Wolf River Conservancy assisted in the process.
“In the summer of 2018, Hugh asked me to help think through how we might fit these land puzzle pieces together with conservation for the community as the goal,” Liz McLaurin, president and CEO of The Land Trust for Tennessee, said. “Projects like this are all about timing, the right combination of people, partners, and a common vision. Three years later, it is so heartening to see it all coming together — goal achieved.”
“Wolf River Conservancy is proud to have worked with such good people on an important project for Memphis and the state parks system,” Ryan Hall, director of Land Conservation for the Wolf River Conservancy, said.
