Taylor-Bray Farm
Encyclopedia
The Taylor-Bray Farm is a farm in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts
, and was originally owned and settled by Richard "of the Rock" Taylor in 1639 while it was still part of Plymouth colony
. Stephen Hopkins (settler)
, a distant maternal line ancestor (see below), was given permission to build a house and cut hay near this farm in 1638, but the first house in Yarmouth built by an Englishman was built by his son Giles in 1638.
Through many generations, it remained in the Taylor family, until 1896 when Lucy W. Taylor sold the farm to George and William Bray, two brothers who had worked for the Taylors, and who were probably distant relatives. The property that Lucy sold for $400 included 50 acres (20 hectares) of uplands and adjacent marshlands which were capable of producing six tons of a combination of salt and fresh hay a year. The deed described the property as being in that part of Yarmouth known as Hockanom. It was sustained as a prosperous working farm by the Bray family until 1941. They continued to harvest salt marsh hay from Black Flat Marsh to feed their farm animals. The Brays often sold their strawberry and blueberry crops from a wheelbarrow on Old Kings Highway. Between then and the late 1980s ownership changed hands a number of times.
In 1987, the prospect of losing the farm to development prompted the Town of Yarmouth to purchase the property. The specific intent --"to maintain the farm for historic preservation and conservation". Tenant/managers have lived in the farmhouse, welcoming the public and educating many schoolgroups about the farm's history and ecologically rich natural beauty.
The farm, a rare survivor of a type of property that once characterized north side agricultural development, was placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1993. The farm consists of approximately 22 acres (8 hectares) bordering Chase Garden Creek and the Black Flats marsh and includes four fixed structures including a ½ Cape farmhouse, a barn, a caretaker’s cottage, and a small storage building. A small flock of sheep is still kept at the farm.
The non-profit Taylor-Bray Farm Preservation Association (TBFPA) and the Yarmouth Historical Commission began an active collaboration in 2001 aimed at fixing up the property for greater public enjoyment. Extensive work remains to further restore the late-18th-century farmhouse and barn.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and was originally owned and settled by Richard "of the Rock" Taylor in 1639 while it was still part of Plymouth colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
. Stephen Hopkins (settler)
Stephen Hopkins (settler)
Stephen Hopkins , was a tanner and merchant who was one of the passengers on the Mayflower in 1620, settling in Plymouth Colony. Hopkins was recruited by the Merchant Adventurers to provide governance for the colony as well as assist with the colony's ventures...
, a distant maternal line ancestor (see below), was given permission to build a house and cut hay near this farm in 1638, but the first house in Yarmouth built by an Englishman was built by his son Giles in 1638.
Through many generations, it remained in the Taylor family, until 1896 when Lucy W. Taylor sold the farm to George and William Bray, two brothers who had worked for the Taylors, and who were probably distant relatives. The property that Lucy sold for $400 included 50 acres (20 hectares) of uplands and adjacent marshlands which were capable of producing six tons of a combination of salt and fresh hay a year. The deed described the property as being in that part of Yarmouth known as Hockanom. It was sustained as a prosperous working farm by the Bray family until 1941. They continued to harvest salt marsh hay from Black Flat Marsh to feed their farm animals. The Brays often sold their strawberry and blueberry crops from a wheelbarrow on Old Kings Highway. Between then and the late 1980s ownership changed hands a number of times.
In 1987, the prospect of losing the farm to development prompted the Town of Yarmouth to purchase the property. The specific intent --"to maintain the farm for historic preservation and conservation". Tenant/managers have lived in the farmhouse, welcoming the public and educating many schoolgroups about the farm's history and ecologically rich natural beauty.
The farm, a rare survivor of a type of property that once characterized north side agricultural development, was placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1993. The farm consists of approximately 22 acres (8 hectares) bordering Chase Garden Creek and the Black Flats marsh and includes four fixed structures including a ½ Cape farmhouse, a barn, a caretaker’s cottage, and a small storage building. A small flock of sheep is still kept at the farm.
The non-profit Taylor-Bray Farm Preservation Association (TBFPA) and the Yarmouth Historical Commission began an active collaboration in 2001 aimed at fixing up the property for greater public enjoyment. Extensive work remains to further restore the late-18th-century farmhouse and barn.
Earliest farming conditions
An unpublished biography of Richard "Rock" Taylor by Mrs. Elizabeth Bray describes earliest farming conditions, the crude cow-houses, crude shelters for crops, and suitable fruit trees, mostly applicable to the neighboring larger Hallett farm. A cow-house (barn) only sheltered the cows and other stock; the fodder (usually salt hay) was stacked outside. The crops (corn) were stored in crude shelters made of poles with only the roof made of boards. The Kentish cherry trees were planted around the edge of the orchard to protect the less hardy trees within. The apple trees were often inferior seedlings, but could be good Pignoses (winter apple) or Foxwell (fall apple), or grafts on the inferior seedlings. The pears were also inferior seedlings, but there were grafts of the French Sugar Pear and the Black Worcester, and later the Catherine (from Boston) and the Orange; the trees were hardy and long-lived.See also
- Plymouth ColonyPlymouth ColonyPlymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
- Constance HopkinsConstance HopkinsConstance Hopkins , also sometimes listed as Constanta. She was probably born in Hursley, Hampshire, England. Constance was the second daughter of Stephen Hopkins, by his first wife, Mary. Some believe she was named in honor of Constance Hopkins...
Children of Constance and Nicholas Snow - Richard Taylor Central http://rrcentral-taylor.blogspot.com
External links
- The Taylor-Bray Farm web site: Taylor-Bray Farm
- Taylor-Bray Farm Preservation Association
- Historical Society of Old Yarmouth
- Smith, Leonard H., Jr. "The Taylor Family of Yarmouth", Cape Cod Library of Local History and Genealogy, Volume 2 (Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc.) 1914 ISBN 0-806313-26-9
- The Harmon and Perry Genealogy
- Hawes, James W. "Richard Taylor "tailor" and Some of His Descendents" Cape Cod Library of Local History and Genealogy, Volume 1 (Yarmouthport MA, The "Register" Press) 1914 ISBN 0-806313-25-0
- "Mayflower Families Through Five Generations", Volume Six, Third Edition, Stephen Hopkins ISBN 0-930270-03-7