A Mathews property owner is in the process of donating nine acres of land on Billups Creek off Field Point Road to the Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority for use as a public nature park and waterfront center, to be named Mathews Heritage Park.

Conrad M. Hall of Norfolk, is donating the parcel. He said during an interview Tuesday that he wants to keep the property in as natural a state as possible.

"If we can preserve as much of the county as possible, we think that’s a plus," he said.

The nature park and waterfront center will be used for teaching visitors about the history of the people of Mathews, the ecology of the land and surrounding waters, and the skills traditionally carried out by Mathews residents, such as farming, fishing, boat-building, seamanship, navigation, sailing and rowing.

The existing small 1910 house on the property will be preserved and maintained, and some limited development can occur, such as building a small reta...