The wonderful Muster Field Farm is a farm that has a lot of historical value in the tiny town of Sutton, New Hampshire. The farm was founded as the Harvey Homestead in 1772 by Matthew Harvey. The original house that was built had burnt down in 1787. The current house that is on the property was built shortly after, but has expanded since it was built. The new house was used as a tavern for the locals to drink at, the first post office and first library in Sutton, and a home for the descendants of the Harveys. In total, eight generations of Harvey descendants lived on the farm and added to it. Open daily year round. Fruit, flower and veggie gardens. Seasonal events.
North Sutton, New Hampshire 03260
By Kimberly Ekberg, Rain Reinauer, Benedith Merisme, Samantha Wisniewski, Eddie Adere – Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH (December 13, 2014)
The wonderful Muster Field Farm is a farm that has a lot of historical value in the tiny town of Sutton, New Hampshire. The farm was founded as the Harvey Homestead in 1772 by Matthew Harvey. The original house that was built had burnt down in 1787. The current house that is on the property was built shortly after, but has expanded since it was built. The new house was used as a tavern for the locals to drink at, the first post office and first library in Sutton, and a home for the descendants of the Harveys. In total, eight generations of Harvey descendants lived on the farm and added to it.
In 1941 a man named Bob Bristol bought the Harvey Homestead to turn it into a dairy and chicken farm. Bristol came up with the name Muster Field because back when Matthew Harvey was around, there was a practice called mustering. Men from the ages of sixteen through sixty would gather in the fields at the Harvey Homestead and practice fighting techniques in case America ever was attacked again.
Bristol felt that it was important to preserve the farm and house exactly the way it should be. The farm is now 250 acres of field and woods, but only 35 acres of the land is used, which makes it larger than what it was when it was originally founded. It continues to be a historical place for families to visit with the house that the Harveys built and many other structures from Sutton and surrounding towns that have been brought in Muster Field Farm to show the history of this area.
The farm is run by a team of people who all have different jobs associated with the farm, and together they keep the farm going. Jack Noon is Muster Field’s administrator and is also the farm manger’s right hand man, and Beth Morrill is the administrative assistant. Muster Field’s vegetable garden and market is run by Mel. Some vegetables that you can see here are peppers, apples, potatoes, squashes, pumpkins, corn, tomatoes, and more. Steve Paquin is the farm manger. He oversees what is happening on the farm, such as vegetable production, the apple orchard, and the flowerbeds. Paquin and the rest of the staff have worked very hard to make it what it is now and will continue to do so in the future.
Muster Field Farm has two major events in the year, Ice Day and Harvest Day. Ice Day normally happens in the middle to late January when the ice is the thickest, and spectators watch as people pull ice out of the lake like they did in the olden days. After people watch or participate in Ice Day, they can then go into the old school house on the property to warm up and have hot apple cider, and desserts. Harvest Day is when everyone can come to the farm and take a tour of the historic house and go on hayrides. People can also make their own apple cider and do other activities. The farm also has a food stand that is regularly open and provides fresh food daily, which is open from 12pm-6pm in the summer.
There is a grant aspect of the farm where they are able to make more income by providing education within the farm to help others. They recently received a grant of a large sum of money in order to provide areas where people can go to learn about the farm. They can also learn about nature and the different types of plants that are around. The farm is founded with the objective of maintaining the historic nature of the farm that has long been passed from one generation to the succeeding generation. Consequently it’s a nonprofit project that attracts many visitors both from within and outside its surrounding. One of the farm projects being worked on right now and awaiting completion in the in future is the school house. This will offer an opportunity for the farm to display the historic system of education to the visitors of the farm.
Muster Field farm will thus have an opportunity to offer historic information on traditional schooling system. Other important plans involve continuous provision of seasonal fruits and vegetables that are found in the farm. Since the farm acts as a historic site, its plans are basically to maintain historic information and equipment that is already in the farm.
Muster Field Farm (& Museum) PO Box 118, Harvey Road, North Sutton NH 03260 603-927-4276
http://www.musterfieldfarm.com/
Retail sales: Farm Stand: Across from the Harvey Homestead House
12pm-6pm in the summer
Kimberly Ekberg, Rain Reinauer, Benedith Merisme,
Samantha Wisniewski, Eddie Adere are students at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH
