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Meadow Brook and Sturtevant Farm Conservation Areas

Location and Description:

Location: Fayette, Maine

Property Description: The 327-acre Meadow Brook and Sturtevant Farm Conservation Areas permanently protect two active farms, wetlands, a cedar seepage forest, a homestead built in 1784, and a beautiful view of the western mountains.

History:

Meadow Brook Farm:

Elaine and Berndt Graf started their 245-acre organic farm, Meadow Brook, in 1983. They had thirty milking Jerseys, a fiber business with Romney/Finn sheep and angora goats, and a riding stable. Determined to ensure that agriculture remains viable in Fayette, Berndt and Elaine worked with KLT and the Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources to develop a permanent conservation easement for their farm.

This project was funded in part by the Land for Maine’s Future program.

Sturtevant Farm:
Just over the ridge from Meadow Brook Farm is the Sturtevant Family’s Home-Nest Farm. In 2002, Arn and Leda Sturtevant donated a 23-acre scenic easement to KLT with a stunning view of Maine’s western mountains. In 2012 they donated a second easement of 64 acres, with two parcels contiguous to Meadow Brook Farm. The oldest wing of the main farmhouse at Home-Nest Farm was built in 1784. The homestead has been occupied by nine generations, dating back to Revolutionary War veteran Andrew Sturtevant. Largely a subsistence farm until the late 19th century, the land now hosts an inn.