After 378 Years, A New Hampshire Farm Calls It Quits

In 1632, an English settler named John Tuttle made his way to the New World.  At the time there were only 100 colonists in what would become the state of New Hampshire.  King Charles I granted Tuttle a small land grant.  Over time the 20 acre farm grew ten-fold.  But after 11 generations, the farm, or “Tuttle’s Red Barn,” which by some accounts is the oldest continually operating farm in the United States, will close.

It has been a great run for Tuttle’s descendants, siblings Lucy and Will Tuttle, who tilled the land for 40 years.  Berries, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, and corn, which made the farm especially legendary, all came from the land.  But farming is a tough job, and economics eventually took their toll.

Many blame the loss of family farms like that of Tuttle on corporate farms.  That is part of the problem.  But other factors made life and work more difficult for the Tuttle family.  Pick-your-own farms, organic farming, the increase in local products, and more farmers’ markets in New Hampshire put the squeeze on the farm.  The Tuttles did what any smart business owners would do:  diversify and find adjacent businesses, like baked goods, gardening products, cheeses, and plants.

So the farm is on the market for US$3.35 million.  It will be a tough sell:  the state designated the farm as conservation land in 2006, so the farm cannot turn into housing tracts or shopping centers, which has turned more of this state of 1.3 million people into an extended suburb of nearby Boston.

Many will lament the farm’s closing:  but few would work the long hours required to keep such an operation going.  We should probably thank the Tuttles for sticking to their labor of love as long as they did.