For almost a century, the Norton family has owned a significant portion of what is known as Long Sands Beach in York, and for most of this time, the Norton family has sought to preserve the public’s access to Long Sands Beach through agreements with the Town of York dating back to the 1950s.

Currently, the property is owned by four siblings, including Roger Norton III. In 2009, the family patriarch, Roger R. Norton, Jr., passed away. Roger was a lifelong resident of York Beach, a member 
of the Union Congregational Church, dedicated Red Sox fan, and most importantly, husband to Mary Norton for 47 years. In 2016, Mary Norton passed away, leaving her estate to their four children.

The siblings’ great-grandfather, Harry Norton, owned a 500-acre farm in York and acquired the 
Long Sands Beach parcel in 1937, later passing it on to his son, Roger Norton Sr. who would later sell parcels of land to attract families to the town so they, too, could enjoy the beach. “He wanted York to be a family town,” Roger Norton III said about his grandfather.

It was Roger Norton Sr. who established the family’s first agreement with the Town of York in the 1950s that enabled the public to freely access Long Sands Beach. In 1993, Roger R. Norton Jr. renewed the agreement with the Town. Under the agreements, in exchange for allowing the public to freely access Long Sands Beach, the Town agreed to maintain the beach and waive assessment of property taxes. Since at least the 1970s, the Town has also generated substantial revenue from paid parking meters 
at Long Sands Beach and benefited economically from beach-related tourism.