In 2018, "Save Shadow Pines" became
"Friends of Shadow Pines"

Thanks to overwhelming support from Penfield voters on February 27, 2018, the "Save Shadow Pines" campaign was an amazing success.


The townspeople saved a jewel of open space in the heart of Penfield from residential development and now we all own the 212 acres of Shadow Pines, along with the historic Clark House, its barns, and ancillary buildings!


The Save Shadow Pines citizens group led the effort to preserve this area and once it was "saved," we renamed the group "Friends of Shadow Pines." As friends, we will continue to advocate for preservation of Shadow Pines as natural open space and we will help to organize projects to maintain and improve Shadow Pines. We'd love to have you join us.


A Brief History of Shadow Pines


  • Originally owned by a revolutionary war veteran, who is buried on site in the tiny Pioneer Cemetery.


  • Sold in 1830 to Alpheus Clark.


  • Changed hands several times over the years, with improvements made to the Clark House.


  • Purchased in 1979 by the then-owners of Dolomite Quarry, the Odenbach family. They bought it specifically as a buffer between the quarry and nearby residences.


  • The Odenbachs transformed the 212 acres of land into an 18-hole golf course in 1985, using the Clark House as a club house along with a golf cart building and a barn. They later built two more golf courses in the area, Shadow Lake and Greystone.


  • In 2000, the quarry and the three golf courses (Shadow Pines, Shadow Lake, and Greystone) were bought by Oldcastle Materials, a subsidiary of a huge international building materials consortium, CrH, based in Ireland.


  • In December 2015, Oldcastle decided to sell all three golf courses. Shadow Lake and Greystone sold as golf courses, while Shadow Pines was marketed for housing development.


  • A two-year effort was undertaken by concerned citizens, the Save Shadow Pines group, to preserve this beautiful piece of land.


  • The Save Shadow Pines group’s efforts culminated in the historic February 2018 referendum in which a record number of Penfield citizens turned out to vote 4-to-1 in favor of having the Town purchase the land for use as “recreation and sanctuary,” as described in the Town’s prior master plans.