Kurt Buermann was among the many open-space advocates, outdoor-minded families, and farm lovers who have been waiting for Moose Hill Farm in Sharon to open. So when the farm opened in the fall of 2007, Buermann was beaming.
by Michael O’Connor
“This is such a welcome addition,” the president of Sharon Friends of Conservation says. “The fact the land has been preserved is the big thing.”
The permanent protection of 347 acres of fields, woodlands and wetlands, 18 miles southwest of Boston, is indeed a big thing. Surrounded on three sides by Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Moose Hill Sanctuary, the land is home to woodcocks, salamanders, and bobolinks, and has a rich human history dating to colonial times. Stone walls line old carriage and foot paths, and the woods are dotted with cellar holes. But it is the property’s once-and-future status as a working farm that has many people excited. “I like the fact that it’s going to remain a farm,” says Buermann. “It’s important for suburban kids to get that kind of exposure, just to learn that there’s more to this world.”
Moose Hill Farm is a gift of the Henry P. Kendall Foundation. Industrialist Henry P. Kendall purchased the land and surrounding parcels early in the 20th century. During the 1940s and ’50s, the farm housed a large dairy herd, and a few cattle were still on the property when it was given to The Trustees in 2005. Today, the old farmhouse and studio are home to Trustees administrative staff, but the rural character of the land will remain. Today, livestock have returned to the farm, in the form of six White Park cattle. Plans also call for the eventual introduction of black and white Dominique chickens, an early American breed.
It is the preservation of the agricultural tradition that locals, such as Charlie McNamara, find so important. A 70-year-old, fourth-generation farmer, McNamara cuts hay at Moose Hill Farm and at Powisset Farm in Dover to feed his 50-head dairy herd in nearby Stoughton. “It will be nice to see these fields stay around for a while,” he says. “Farms are part of the big picture.”
Buermann sees another benefit of continuing to work the land: growing a new crop of conservationists. He notes that The Trustees’ growing inventory of agricultural properties (including East Over Reservation in Rochester, Appleton Farms in Ipswich, and Powissett Farm in Dover) plays an important role in connecting young people to the land. As he says, “If young people know even a little bit, it can plant a seed.”
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