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The Peterson Farm can be found
in the center of Franklin Township, Hunterdon
County, New Jersey. It is mainly a grain and hay
farm. The farm consists of 153 acres of farmland.
This farm is in The Farmland Preservation Program
so it will always be used for farmland.
The history of the Peterson Farm goes back to the
times before the Revolutionary War. The land was
originally surveyed off the "3rd Indian Purchase of
1703." The first person to have record of ownership
was Daniel Coxe in 1712.
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The farm was part of a
large 4,170 acres parcel of land called
the Mount Carmel Tract.
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Later the area of the farm became part of Kingwood
Township. In 1758 a parcel of 175 acres was
purchased by Granet Von Campen. This is the area
that the present day farm sits on. Aron Von Campen
took ownership of the farm form 1758 to 1760.
The first original farmhouse was
made in 1760. Between 1760 and 1800 there were
three different owners.
In 1800 the farm was bought by
William Webster. Mr. Webster increased the size of
the farm to about 277 acres. He called his farm
"The Retreat" because of the peacefulness and
isolation he found there. William Webster owned the
farm until 1842.
After 1842 the farm passed into
many hands. First Asa McPherson bought about 193
acres. In 1868, Theodore McPherson, son of Asa
McPherson , took over. Later Asa McPherson (same
name as his grandfather), the son of Theodore
McPherson, farmed 168 acres from 1907 to 1919.
In 1919 Harry and Ranae Preckwinkle took ownership
of the farm. They farmed this area until 1948. In
1948 Frank Loufner purchased the 168 acre farm and
retained ownership until it was bought by John and
Esther Peterson in 1955. John A. Peterson took
ownership of the farm in 1993 and has owned it ever
since
Mr. Peterson's and his wife both come from farming
families. Mr. Peterson chose to be a farmer because
he likes to be outside. His father worked on the
farm so it inspired him to go into farming.
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The farm has been in
their family for 2 generations.
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The major crops that are grown on the Peterson Farm
are hay, soybeans, sweet corn, and Christmas trees.
The hay is harvested and sold as food for other
animals at other farms. Sweet corn is grown every
year and sold directly to the public. Every
December the farm is open to the public for the
sale of Christmas trees.
The only animals that the Peterson's have on their
farm at this time are 5 steer for food and 8 to 10
cats to prevent rodents. At one time they used to
have a dairy heard of 22 milking cows, but it was
decided to focus on grain farming.
Their are many historic buildings
on the Peterson farm. The farm house dates back to
1760. It has been added on to throughout the years.
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One of the most
beautiful buildings is the old barn. It
features a cupola and dates back to the
1860's. There is a corn crib that goes
back until 1850. A corn crib is like a
barn for corn.
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On the farm is a root
cellar, which was used at one time to
store a lot of different vegetables. It is
50 degrees Fahrenheit all the time in the
root cellar.
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During the winter the Peterson's
repair all their farm machinery.
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Mr. Peterson gets most
of his farming information from
experience, trial and error, reading
books, and going to agricultural
meetings.
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The 1999 soybean, corn, and hay
crop was really bad last year due to the a drought.
This year the Petersons have put in an irrigation
system to help prevent this from happening again.
In the future the Peterson's would like to plant
strawberries. Mr. Peterson hopes his farm will stay
in the family for at least two more
generations.
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