A Main Line estate — Oakwell — continues to be central to a dispute between its former owner and the Lower Merion School District. The exact fate of the 10-acre property and its century-old trees remains unclear, as Frank Kummer and Oona Goodin-Smith chronicled in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Oakwell, in Villanova, comprises a 1922 mansion and vast grounds. Its 1877 owner was a Pa. railroad baron.

Its most recent private owner was John Bennett, a physician-entrepreneur.

He lost the deed in a 2018 eminent domain case brought by Lower Merion School District (LMSD), which purchased the site for $9.9 million for the new Black Rock Middle School athletic fields.

Bennett stayed, however, under a rental agreement.

Because of its desire to get the project moving, LMSD took control of the property.

Of most concern to Bennett — and neighbors — is the blueprint’s reliance on felling numerous trees to clear the way for athletic fields.

Some of the property’s 700 trees date back to the Revolutionary War.

The school district sees the need for athletics as intrinsic to its ability to remain competitive through an active sports program that mirrors those of neighboring districts.

Neighbors have voiced desires for preservation on social media.

And the township’s zoning board is preparing for the whole matter to be heard in court.

More on Oakwell and its threatened thickets is at The Philadelphia Inquirer.