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The 200 Year Old Farm With The "Clearview"
- Hours
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- Phone:
Main - 978-422-6442
- Address:
- 4 Kendall Hill Rd Sterling, MA 01564
- Email:
- Link:
- Categories
- Farms, Orchards
- Services / Products
- Baked Goods, Raspberries, Corn, Nectarines, Cheese, Potted Plants, Eggs, Peaches, Squash, Non-Pasteurized Cider, Gourds, Apples, Strawberries, Pumpkins, Seasonal Vegetables, Pears, Maple Syrup, Blueberries, Jams
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- Amenities
- Hayrides
General Info
*Closed until June* In 1906 Caswell and Etta Wood bought the property which consisted of a traditional farm house with all post and beam barn and wind driven well. Their only surviving child, Edith Wood, a well known elementary school teacher in town married “the boy next door”, Norman Sawyer, from the Sawyer farmstead of Mary Had a Little Lamb fame. In the 1940's Norman planted the standard orchard of mostly macintosh apples still used today for PYO and cider apples. Norman and Edith’s oldest grand daughter, Diane, and her husband Rick moved here in 1989. They were the first to make it a retail farm operation. It started with a single PYO pumpkin patch for their 3 daughters to earn enough money to have a horse. The farm has changed and grown with the family Now Clearview Farm is a 32 acre seasonal orchard and farm stand run by Rick and Diane Melone. It is located at 4 Kendall Hill Road in Sterling, Massachusetts. This farm has an interesting historical background because of it’s ties to the home of Mary E. Sawyer, the little girl in the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” A statue in the center of Sterling commemorates Mary and her lamb. Diane is a sixth generation descendant of Mary and currently owns the Sawyer homestead. Rick still farms some of the original Sawyer farmland. This site has been a farm for 200 years and in this family 6 generations. The farm includes: 20 acres of apples, 4 acres of peaches and nectarines, 12 acres of pumpkins, 6 acres raspberries and blueberries, 2 acres of other vegetables. In addition, 17 acres leased orchards and fields. Farmer Rick is a very capable orchardist and adds about 60 trees per year to upgrade the orchards and reflect the changes in consumer demand for variety. The farm currently has 27 varieties of apples. The farm is not certified organic due in part to the fact that orchards don’t lend themselves to crop rotation, an essential part of organic farming. Rick is certified in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) methods and uses them to grow their orchards, fruits, and vegetables. IPM promotes minimized pesticide use by using environmentally sound practices. This combined with crop rotation and natural fertilizer use helps Clearview Farm produce a healthy product. Our Mission For our customers and their families to experience traditional farm culture; purchase fresh, healthy local produce and related products as well as value added activities and services to enhance the feeling of being in an authentic rural farm atmosphere. Our business values are customer satisfaction through consistent quality, education and friendliness. Our Products The farm stand opens mid August with peaches, blueberries, corn, and other seasonal vegetables. The farm stand stays open through the holidays, weather permitting. The stand sells apples, peaches, pears, nectarines, blueberries, raspberries, vegetables, non-pasteurized cider (pressed on site), pumpkins, squash, gourds, maple syrup, cheese, eggs, jams, baked goods, crafts and gift items. The Melone’s also sell potted plants, primarily hardy mums. Rick, his wife, Diane, their 3 daughters, 1 son and two workers supply labor. The workers are men who come from Jamaica to work on the farm from May to October.