Beehive Oven

The fireplace in the center room of the brick house was rumored to have a beehive oven. With the help and expertise of Tim Nichols of North Anson, we opened the fireplace just enough to uncover the oven which had been partially removed in order to make way for a refrigerator back in the 1920's.

Tim and Jesse are working on a new chimney to replace this on becaause the crib work under the chimney has failed and the chimney is leaning and twisted from the top to the bottom. The 8' wide mantel will be reused and a new brick oven built along with a Rumford style fireplace that will house a Home Atlantic wood stove similar to the one at the Bradley camp dining room. This project is scheduled for December of 2008.

Barn/Woodshed removal July 19

Alas the decision had to be made to tear down the old woodshed with the attached 3 hole out house. While much of the structure dated from the early 1800's, the roof had been redone in the 1950s and the framing sometime before that. The pitch on the roof was shallow enough that many Maine winters and heavy snow had caused it to crush in several directions. It had been modified several times with many of the main timbers either cut for new doorsor rotting from misalignment. It was a sad day but the true beginning of the rebirth of the old house.

David Hallowell and his associate Jeff made quick work of the project with an excavator. 2 truck loads of debris was hauled off and the dumpster filled. Several of the beams were salvaged and stored for the replacement wing currently being identified as the Dance Hall.

The last of the wiring was removed from the gable end of the summer house and siding applied to clean up the outside. We are planning for 2009 to jack and form a foundation under the summer house which is slated for an overhaul this winter.

New Front Patio

With the help of Nathan and Rick Greenleaf and John Rohner, the new drainage trench was completed the 1st weekend in October. This allowed for the front steps to be reset and for the patio to finally be loamed and reseeded. This completes the major overhaul of the front of the house with the dormers getting a face lift in July by Dennis Olson during the reroofing process made necessary by a leak in one of the dormers.

Nathan was home on leave and is moving to Fort Bragg in Upstate NY before a return later this year to Afganistan. It was a 10 hour day of rolling the granie steps on rollers back so the backhoe could dig the trench. After lining it with rubber and filling with 1 1/2" stone, we reset the steps and finished the project at dark.

Orchard Upgrades

Matt Stoffer of North Star Pruning, of Palermo, ME has just completed the first major effort in the apple orchard in many years. Matt surveyed the project last fall and started work in late March. The trees look great and the air flow has greatly improved. Matt will be back next year to continue to prune these antiques into shape. Matt was recommended by John Bunker of Fedco Trees in Waterville.

Mark Fulford of Tetlane Farms, Monroe, ME is consulting on the soil amendments for the orchard and the fields we have recently reclaimed. Mark has developed an amendment plan that will set the farm on the course to sustainable agriculture. With Mark's help we will be having the Amish at Lancaster Ag in PA, grind and deliver 12 tons of product for spreading early this spring.

We have plans to expand the orchard north to the big rock. We have worked with Fedco this winter and purchased 8 new apple trees and 3 peach trees for the orchard. While the house continue to need our attention, the orchard will take longer to reestablish. We have blueberries going in down by the lake and plans for a few balsam firs along the road. Oh yes, that is Teddy, our setter, beagle, spanial in the picture.

Pictures from 2007

Lakeshore Farm History

Lakeshore Farm was original started by Starbird Turner in 1805. The Town of Rome was founded by Mr. Turner and 3 others in 1803. The split granite foundation dates from 1805 and some of the rock was cut from the big stone at the north end of the orchard. While the finishes of the brick farm house indicate 1830’s, the timing of the various components is still open to interpretation. The bricks for the farm were formed and baked on the property to the west of the road.

The Turner clan held the farm into the 1880 when the Tracy clan came by the farm. Details still being gathered.

Tracy sold the farm to RH Bradley of NJ in 1935. The Bradley clan held the farm until 1959 when it was sold to Karel & Virginia Jacobs. The orchard was developed by the Bradleys and the farm produced milk and eggs during the second world war. The Bradleys employed the McTaggart family to run the farm and were present during the summers down on the lake at their camp.

Karel was of Dutch decent and had hoped to raise flowers. The Jacobs held the farm and added to the land holdings until 2006. The Jacobs built a new home further up on the property where they reside today.

In 2006, Jesse, Jen & Bradley Abbott of Scarborough, ME purchased the farm house and some fields from the Jacobs. The Abbotts are current reworking the primary field for sustainable agriculture. In 2008, 20 new trees will be plant in and around the orchard and the fields will be fed soil amendments and a rotation of crops will be begun. The Abbotts have consulted a number of agronomists and are working on holistic farming solutions.

The Abbotts are in the process of acquiring the remainder of the land from the Jacobs from stream to stream and from the road, Rt 225 down to the lake.

What's up for 2008

Farm 5 Year Plan
98 Starbird Lane, Rome, ME
Great Pond, Belgrade Lakes
207-397-2800

2007

Built septic system below old barn site
Built power house on old well house foundation
Rebuilt front stone wall and stone walkway
Put power underground, cleaned up orchard and removed rocks
Cleared tillage field and sowed buckwheat
Cleared lower field and re seeded
Reworked upstairs bath and ceiling in west bedroom

2008

Complete 2nd floor bath and rewire entire second floor, replace ceiling
Plan new barn on site of old corn crib, post & beam 36’ x 48’
Add soil amendments from Amish to all fields, plant crops in tillage field
Plant 3 peach trees, 8 apples and clear and till orchard expansion
10 Blueberry bushes for the lakefront and 2 rows of balsam firs along road
Build cord wood storage and tractor and implement shelter
Install propane tank and plumb
Start mulching yard above tillage field
Expose great room fireplace and determine how to rebuild

2009

Rework foundation on summer house and establish plumbing and electrical