 In 1884 Presley sold the property to the Kroeger family, who were stewards of the property until 1902.After a series of other owners, the property was bought by the Smith family in 1950.In 1979 Emilie and Macauley Smith, seeing the immense beauty and value of the land, donated it to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, allowing Blackacre to become the first State Nature Preserve of Kentucky.