History of Fatherland Farm |
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What came to be known as Fatherland Farm was originally part of the land owned by Richard Dummer who was the most prominent member of the first settlers of Byfield and one of the richest men in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His land stretched from the Mill River at Oyster Point to Wheeler's Brook along the south side of the Parker River and covered 1,080 acres. The original Dummer mansion is believed to have been on Fatherland Farm and he owned the first mill built on the Parker River which was located at the falls at Central Street. His herds of cattle were so numerous and so aggressive that in 1660 Rowley voted to put up "as substantial and strong three-railed fence... between Newbury and Rowley, to prevent cattle coming from Mr. Dummer's farm." |
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The land was named Fatherland Farm by Eben Parsons, the son of the Byfield minister. When Eben Parsons left Byfield as a young man to seek his fortune he said, "When I get money enough I am coming back to buy that Dummer pasture and live there." According to John Ewell, author of The History of Byfield (George E. Littlefield, Boston, 1904), "Providence wonderfully prospered him, so that in 1801 he could buy the "Dummer pasture," and in 1802 erect the noble mansion which has been the pride of the old parish for a century... Mr. Parsons at that time lived on Summer Street in Boston..., but he made frequent visits to Byfield, driving out in a coach with liveried servants. After the death of his wife in 1810 he made Fatherland Fam his home until his death at the age of seventy-three." "He was a great benefactor of Byfield and the country at large by his enthusiasm in agriculture. He imported choice breeds of cattle, sheep, and swine, and also improved varieties of grain and grasses, and scions of foreign fruit, and ornamental trees and shrubs. The beautiful mantel-piece of Italian marble with its exquisite agricultural reliefs in the parlor at Fatherland Farm was given to him by the Massachusetts Agricultural Society in grateful recognition of his services to agriculture." Gorham Parsons, Esq., the only son of Eben Parsons, continued the tradition of agricultural innovation. According to Ewell, "He got his foreman, Janes Feguson from England, and his head gardener from Holland, and choice breeds of animals from various parts of the world. He is said to have imported cows from far away Calcutta. His breed of wine was very noted, and he delighted to send smoked hams and shourders to deck the tables of his friends. Like his father, he was a great benefactor to the agriculture of the region." (Last Modified: 30-Sept-00) |