CARRBORO -- When P.H. Craig bought land along Bolin Creek in the late 1960s, he needed a four-wheel drive vehicle to cross it, and even then there were times of the year the only way in was on foot.

But bad knees have kept Craig from enjoying his 77 acres, some of the most scenic in Orange County, the last few years. With age creeping up, he's thinking about a legacy.

"I deny the fact that I'm 70 years old, but chronologically that's what the clock says," Craig said Tuesday. "Now is the time to start thinking, 'What is going to happen?'"

The town of Carrboro has been interested in Craig's land at least since Mike Nelson, now a county commissioner, was mayor. Current Mayor Mark Chilton says it's very early in the discussions, but the town hopes to work with other local governments or get state grants to preserve part of Craig's property.

"P.H. has thrown around a figure like 10 acres, but it's not out of the question he might be willing to sell more than that," Chilton said. "We really don't know."

Forty years after he bought it, with neighborhoods now surrounding it, Craig's land remains as green today as when Nixon was elected. Forty percent of it is in the floodplain and can't be developed.

Dave Otto, chairman of the Friends of Bolin Creek, said Craig's property, which starts at the bend in Seawell School Road by the railroad crossing, is the last privately owned creekside property between Estes Drive and Homestead Road.

"I think it's incredibly important," he said. The Friends have been asking the town to establish a natural park there for several years, he added.

The town already wants to build a greenway from the railroad tracks to Homestead Road, about a third of it on land owned by Craig, Otto said. The greenway will help connect UNC's existing and Carolina North campuses, as well as several neighborhoods along Seawell School and Homestead roads.

Otto said the neighboring Adams Tract was valued at $35,000 to $40,000 an acre. But Craig isn't ready to discuss price or other details of a possible sale.

When he bought his land, it was "way up in the boondocks," he said.

He says he originally planned to use it for Polled Hereford cattle - the red and white ones without horns. When that didn't work out, he held onto it, well, because his mother had always told him to.

Craig says he's never sold any real estate he ever bought. He's at loggerheads with Spencer Young, owner of The Courtyard on Franklin Street, because Craig won't sell Young the parking lot that serves the property.

His mother had lost everything in the Depression, Craig said.

"She just always said, from the time I was a small kid, invest in real estate," he said. "The banks can't take that away from you."