Pine Shadow Farm has been in the Brockelbank family for over 100 years.

 

      Year                    Owner

 

1.   1912 – 1941       Emma Brockelbank

2.   1941 – 1956       Myron Brockelbank

3.   1956 – 1958       Esther Brockelbank

4.   1958 – 1975       David Brockelbank

5.   1975 – 2019       Jacqueline Brockelbank

6.   2019 – Present     Karen Brockelbank 

​

1. In 1912 the property at 6 Searle Street was given to Emma Frances (Morse) Brockelbank for the sum of $1.00, by the family of Lyman H. Adams.  Wendell and Emma raised livestock and grew crops on the nine-acre farm, building a home and putting up several sheds and fenced in areas.
    

2. When Emma and Wendell decided to downsize in 1941 after raising their family, they signed the farm over to their youngest son Myron, who had two young children to raise.  Myron and Esther worked the land in a very similar way to Wendell, raising livestock and planting crops.
    

3. Myron signed the farm over to Esther in 1956 for a reason lost to time.  He and Esther worked the farm from 1941 until 1958, raising small livestock such as turkey and mink, until they decided to relocate to Florida. 
    

4. In 1958, Esther sold the farm to her newlywed son David.  After several years of long-distance mortgage payments, in October 1962 Esther sent the signed mortgage to her son and wrote “Paid in Full, just because I love you. Happy Birthday, Mama” gifting the farm to the young couple.  They named the property “Pine Shadow Farm”, and kept horses, goats and other animals.  The couple built a new house and barn to fulfill their needs. 
    

5. Upon the advent of their divorce in 1975,  Jacqueline received the farm from David in their settlement and continued to raise her young daughters there.  Over the years the farm evolved into a raised-bed vegetable garden protected from deer.
    

6. ​In 2019, when Jacqueline could no longer care for the farm, it was transferred to Karen.  Karen works the land in a different way than her ancestors.  Inspired by childhood memories of her great-aunt Katherine Tidd’s garden, she is building her own “secret garden”, and laying out beds of perennial flowers along with permaculture inspired food forests.  Each part of the garden has a different theme.  The garden is a work in progress, and every year brings a new challenge.​​