Elmwood Farm
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Elmwood Farm was the original home of Community Harvest Project's predecessor, Food For The Needy. The home of our late founders, Bill and Rose Abbott, this property is currently owned by the Abbott Realty Trust, created as part of the Abbotts' estate planning. According to the terms of the Trust, the property was to be sold and the proceeds used to fund the Abbott Foundation -- a nonprofit foundation whose purpose will be to financially support CHP and/or similar programs.
The trustees have been working toward a plan which would meet the stated goals of the Trust through a limited development project -- one which would preserve Elmwood Farm as a farming site for Community Harvest Project, and preserve the original Elmwood farmhouse while adapting it to some future reuse. Only a portion of the farm property -- uncleared backland not currently in agricultural use -- would be used for a "conservation development" project.
These Wiki pages will help communicate and chronicle this project, while allowing others to share information and resources to help things along the way.
Visit by Fitch Family descendant
The highlight of the year to date has been a visit by Nancy Walker, her husband, and a friend. Nancy is a descendant of the Fitch family, who lived at Elmwood Farm from the late eighteenth century through the early twentieth century.
We were excited to develop this link to the farm's past -- even more so when we heard that the family may have photos and other memorabilia relating to the farm and their family's history there. Joining us for a tour during the visit were a number of members of the Hopkinton Historical Society and Hopkinton Historical Commission, and we hope to maintain and expand our contact with the family as our project progresses.
Subsequent to this visit, the Hopkinton Historical Society published an article on Lucy Fitch Perkins in the Fall 2010 issue of their newsletter.
