LEVERETT — The Blueberry Patch, a former Christmas tree farm where beef cattle were raised many years ago, is a popular place to walk, pick blueberries and enjoy nature and birding — and for years visitors have done just that, taking advantage of easy access to the site.

“The special thing about the area is that it’s flat to the Blueberry Patch,” said Jenny Daniell, a resident who lives nearby.

She says that when getting to the site, from its main entry point on Shutesbury Road, even those with mobility challenges or who are pushing strollers can appreciate the landscape.

But now the 65-acre parcel in East Leverett, also known as the Gordon King Life Estate, is at the center of a public access dispute that has many worried that the land will soon be much harder to enjoy.

Access to the site, which was deeded to the town by longtime resident Gordon King in late 2000, is at the center of a Land Court lawsuit filed in June against both Leverett and its Conservation Commission by the owners of a neighboring Shutesbury Road property.

The complaint, from Norma S. Evans, David A. Evans and Jule Evans Marlowe, who own the home at 101 Shutesbury Road, focuses on whether residents and visitors have a right to continue to access the Blueberry Patch via the shortest route.

Over the years, the town has published information about the site, through its Open Space and Recreation Plan, as having free public access, and the Rattlesnake Gutter Trust publicizes the trails that run through it.

Since being acquired by the town, volunteers have placed a memorial bench for King, who died at 98 in 2016, on a covered bridge built by his sons. King taught arboriculture and the park management program at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts.

Now, though, “no trespassing” signs have been posted and a locked gate has been erected 11 feet from the abutting public way.

Correspondence from Michael Pill, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, notes that the original easement, established in 1955, doesn’t allow public access over his client’s land or give any right to park vehicles on that land, and the easement only allows people to enter a portion of the site.

In 1995, when the town placed a conservation restriction on the land, a revised easement allowed town officials, acting in an official capacity, to get onto the land, but that, the lawsuit claims, “does not grant to the general public, or to any other person, any right to enter upon the premises except ‘at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner.’”

Nearby resident Daniell, who is an attorney, contends that the easement runs with the deed and was granted to Gordon King, and cites the principle of “adverse possession,” that since the access has been used for many years, it is now something people are entitled to. Several residents have filed affidavits stating that.

Some residents also spoke out at the Leverett Select Board meeting this week, concerned about what is happening.

While the Blueberry Patch is accessible in other ways, both involve much longer walks and over terrain that is more challenging. One access point, to the south and off Cushman and Teawaddle Hill roads, is through the East Leverett Meadow, and the other is to the north, off Shutesbury Road at the 4-H Forest.

Leverett officials have posted a notice about the lawsuit on the town website stating that the Select Board and Conservation Commission are working through the legal process with town counsel Donna MacNicol. But that posting also comes with appeal to learn more about how the land has been used, especially during an earlier time. King moved to town in 1950.

“The town requests that anyone who can provide documentation of public use of the right-of-way, or the Gordon King property in general, please send information to (Town Administrator) Margie (McGinnis). Information could include stories, dated photographs, etc. Any information is welcome, and older documentation from the 1955-1967 time period would be particularly useful.”

The lawsuit names the members of the Conservation Commission by name, including member David Powicki, who has established a way for people who pick blueberries to contribute money that goes toward upkeep and maintenance of the site.

King over the years told people that the blueberries he harvested, mixed with Gallo jug wine, helped him to live a long life.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.