The Greater Litchfield Preservation Trust, a 501c3 tax-exempt entity under the Federal Income Tax Code, is the parent of the operating partnerships organized to own and operate the real properties which, from time to time, it may acquire. At present there are two such operating partnerships: (1) The Litchfield Preservation Limited Partnership owns and operates the Post Office Building, originally known as the Josiah Beckwith Building, at 16 South Street and (2) The Litchfield Agricultural Center, LLC owns and operates the building formerly known as the Agricultural Center at 26 West Street. The Trust owns shares in each of these partnerships and is the managing partner for both.
In addition to restoring the Josiah Beckwith building and the Agricultural Center to commercial viability, the Trust has found a number of ways to pursue the purposes of its founding without purchasing and managing real property. Such projects have included a municipal parking study, an inventory of buildings over fifty years old, the burying of utility wires, the purchase of street lamps, the reconstruction of the water fountain on the village green, and a study for the adaptive reuse of the old jail.
In 2017 the State of Connecticut vacated the Litchfield County Courthouse and terminated its interest in the structure. The Trust acquired the Courthouse in order to preserve and protect the architectural and historic features of the building and to facilitate repurposing it to serve the long-term interests of the people of the Town of Litchfield.
The Trust also awards private individuals for their exemplary efforts at historic preservation. Trustees meet monthly in an unceasing effort to pursue the Trust’s mission.