For those who grew up in Cheshire, Richard H. Chapman is best known as the owner of a chicken farm that operated on Route 10 for many years.

But for newcomers to town, Chapman will probably be remembered as the man who sold his family's 10-acre farm to the town for $3 million. Chapman died Aug. 16th at the age 80, according to an obituary posted by the Alderson Funeral Home.

Richard Chapman

Cheshire voters approved the land purchase in a September 2016 referendum. The town had tried to buy the farm, which is located adjacent to Bartlem Park on Route 10, earlier in the current decade, but a deal never came to fruition.

 “They had what old-timers like to call ‘fishhooks in your pocket,’” Chapman told the New Haven Register, when asked to describe the town's previous offer for the property. “I wasn't going to give it away for nothing.”

Some residents objected to the price of the property, but town officials successfully argued that if the referendum failed,  a developer might purchase the land and build high density housing on it. Traffic along that stretch of Route 10, near Cheshire High School, is already quite heavy.

Chapman was a regular morning visitor to the One Stop Convenience Store on South Main Street, where he would socialize and discuss local issues with friends.

Richard is survived by his children; Richard Chapman Jr. and his wife Carol of Canajoharie, New York;  Sandra Beyerle and her husband Paul of Cheshire; Gunnar Chapman Sr. and his wife Kathleen of Cheshire and Heidi White and her husband Kevin of Cheshire. He is also survived by his grandchildren; Colton, Patricia, Ty, and Gwendolynn White, Rhiannon, Christian, and Faith Beyerle, Gunnar Chapman Jr. and Katherine Chapman, and Sara Chapman

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the First Congregational Church of Cheshire, 111 Church Dr.  Burial will follow in Cheshire Hillside Cemetery.