Our farm came with a lot of restoration work and invaluable local history. I will try to share a bit of the farm's history here on our blog as we look at a changing of generations in farming nationwide. The accompanying photo is one of the many historical treasures I found when we moved in. Much of what was found is currently at the Richland historical society being archived, photos of I81 being built, community picnics, class photos, and the like.
The previous owners lived their whole lives here and left the house and property to their care taker; who we have bought the property from. They had no next of kin to share their story, but the stories they have told Judy, which she happily relates to us, and the paper trail they left behind tell a story of commitment, and love of this land. They both lived well into their 90's and 100's and had both been school teachers. Their education lives on in the records they hung onto, and kept into their old age. Every plant that was planted, every repair that was done, every animal sold; recorded. From 1920-1949 their father; Louis, kept weekly temperature and precipitation averages neatly recorded in a notebook. They have a notebook after retirement they kept just of bird sightings in the yard!
I can not write enough praise of these people I never knew in one blog, but feel part of their family with these records left behind and restoring their old farm. One of the treasures of historical import found as we were moving in was this box, tied together with baling twine, containing labeled vials of seeds. No dates or sources therein. I presume that these seeds were some that their father planted for their livestock; hay seeds, and grains. I will try to germinate and grow to seed as many as I can, these precious kernels of history and hope in a time of intense hybridization and GMO's.
From what I can see of old deeds, the house and barn was built and land cleared by Henry McClelland in the late 1850's and changed hands to the Nichols family in 1906. This was the year Frances was born here, and passed away in 2006. The original tract of 109 acres included the family cemetery across the road, and was reduced through the years to 89 acres of pasture land; much of which is now grown over. From the records it seems in the summer each of the local farms would rotate hosting picnics with one another and neighbors at their farms. What a lovely tradition to restart!
The yard; the many times in spring we drove by it before buying the property, has always burst with color in the spring with crocuses carpeting the lawn, and lilacs blooming with their nostalgic fragrance, tulips popping up on borders and peonies plopping over after a rain. And there are notebooks full of records of plants planted, how well they did each year for over 70 years! I feel so blessed to call this bit of paradise home, and to carry on the Nichols' family farm.
There are farm records that I hope to use as a treasure map to find the overgrown gardens of perennials, and proliferate old strains of day lilies that will need to be divided, some of which I have never seen anything like.
The women who grew up and lived here for nearly a century loved this land deeply, and their story should be shared; their education live on. I am humbled with the opportunity.
I will share more of the history of the land throughout the year, as we meet each bit of history in passing. These seeds are better than a photo album or journal if we can get them to grow.
For now we are anxiously waiting for the snow to melt. We have gotten a loan for a high tunnel, and are excited for the season to get underway. On a cold windy day, after my seeding is done, I thought I'd share this little bit of history with our farm members and supporters. Because we won't know where we're going if we don't know where we've been.
Spring is on it's way- dragging it's feet!
The previous owners lived their whole lives here and left the house and property to their care taker; who we have bought the property from. They had no next of kin to share their story, but the stories they have told Judy, which she happily relates to us, and the paper trail they left behind tell a story of commitment, and love of this land. They both lived well into their 90's and 100's and had both been school teachers. Their education lives on in the records they hung onto, and kept into their old age. Every plant that was planted, every repair that was done, every animal sold; recorded. From 1920-1949 their father; Louis, kept weekly temperature and precipitation averages neatly recorded in a notebook. They have a notebook after retirement they kept just of bird sightings in the yard!
I can not write enough praise of these people I never knew in one blog, but feel part of their family with these records left behind and restoring their old farm. One of the treasures of historical import found as we were moving in was this box, tied together with baling twine, containing labeled vials of seeds. No dates or sources therein. I presume that these seeds were some that their father planted for their livestock; hay seeds, and grains. I will try to germinate and grow to seed as many as I can, these precious kernels of history and hope in a time of intense hybridization and GMO's.
From what I can see of old deeds, the house and barn was built and land cleared by Henry McClelland in the late 1850's and changed hands to the Nichols family in 1906. This was the year Frances was born here, and passed away in 2006. The original tract of 109 acres included the family cemetery across the road, and was reduced through the years to 89 acres of pasture land; much of which is now grown over. From the records it seems in the summer each of the local farms would rotate hosting picnics with one another and neighbors at their farms. What a lovely tradition to restart!
The yard; the many times in spring we drove by it before buying the property, has always burst with color in the spring with crocuses carpeting the lawn, and lilacs blooming with their nostalgic fragrance, tulips popping up on borders and peonies plopping over after a rain. And there are notebooks full of records of plants planted, how well they did each year for over 70 years! I feel so blessed to call this bit of paradise home, and to carry on the Nichols' family farm.
There are farm records that I hope to use as a treasure map to find the overgrown gardens of perennials, and proliferate old strains of day lilies that will need to be divided, some of which I have never seen anything like.
The women who grew up and lived here for nearly a century loved this land deeply, and their story should be shared; their education live on. I am humbled with the opportunity.
I will share more of the history of the land throughout the year, as we meet each bit of history in passing. These seeds are better than a photo album or journal if we can get them to grow.
For now we are anxiously waiting for the snow to melt. We have gotten a loan for a high tunnel, and are excited for the season to get underway. On a cold windy day, after my seeding is done, I thought I'd share this little bit of history with our farm members and supporters. Because we won't know where we're going if we don't know where we've been.
Spring is on it's way- dragging it's feet!
And here's a picture of our little ducklings.
And one of our bio char lesson.
And finally some seedlings in the greenhouse- yes we are growing food!
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