Third Stone Farm, Barnstead Parade, NH

Tucked among the trees in Barnstead, Third Stone Farm is the kind of place where Christmas traditions have deep roots. Since 1990, families have wandered its fields in search of that just-right tree, but the farm’s story began more than a decade earlier with three friends, a patch of New Hampshire forest, and an ambitious idea.

In 1979, Mike Burke, Rich Miller, and Karlene Normandin purchased 18 wooded acres and set about turning them into a farm. With plenty of determination—and the help of hatchets, oxen, and willing friends—they cleared the land by hand. From the beginning, they believed the farm should work with nature rather than against it. Trees were grown without chemical shortcuts, soil was renewed naturally, and timber from the property found new life in farm buildings.

When the founders were ready to pass the farm along in 2013, they found kindred spirits in Tim and Atlanta Gaudreau. For the Gaudreau family, Third Stone was more than a beautiful property. Its long commitment to sustainability felt immediately familiar. Tim, an eco-artist and farmer, saw the land as another expression of his environmental work, while Atlanta was drawn to the opportunity to steward a special piece of New Hampshire for the next generation.

Today, Third Stone remains very much a family-and-friends affair. Spring brings planting, summer means seemingly endless mowing, autumn is for getting equipment and fields ready, and winter welcomes visitors back among the evergreens. Even Biscuit, the farm dog, has appointed himself to the crew, specializing in chipmunk patrol, worker supervision, and the important business of making sure no stray stick escapes notice.

The Gaudreaus have also carried their love of sustainability across the road, where they founded Willow Brook Farm & Art Center in 2014 to bring together permaculture, small-scale organic farming, environmental responsibility, and the arts.

Through all those seasons and generations, the heart of Third Stone Farm has stayed remarkably consistent: care for the land, work shared among family and friends, and the pleasure of helping other families make traditions of their own. Come winter, when the fields fill with people searching for a tree to take home, nearly half a century of stewardship can be felt beneath every step.

Primary Season: Christmas Trees