Historic Metcalf-Franklin Farm jobs and careers

About Historic Metcalf-Franklin Farm

The Historic Metcalf-Franklin Farm was the last working and complete dairy farm in Cumberland, RI. Its agriculture and architecture demonstrate the developmental history of Abbott Run Valley from the early 1800s to the early 2000s. In 1994 and 2005, the Town of Cumberland purchased the intact 65 acres farm. With the help from the HMFFPA, preservation and restoration is on going. For over 214 years, this land has been farmed..... The farm has had only two family owners, the Metcalfs and the Franklins . The Metcalf family is one of the oldest families of New England arriving in 1637 to escape religious persecution. In 1776, Liberty Metcalf was born in Cumberland, RI and purchased the farm land, in its entirety in 1809 from his father, Ebeneezor Metcalf. He and his family were subsistence farmers. In 1857, William Franklin purchased and began diversifying the farm by expanding the barn, building a home along Abbott Run Valley Road and maintaining dairy cows. The Franklin's farmed the land for over 165 years, until the grandson of William Franklin, William "Rhodey" Franklin's, passing in 2005. The historical significance of this property can not be overlooked. "The intact fields and meadows, buildings and structures, stone walls, barnyard and house yard, that compose Franklin Farm, have a remarkable degree of integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association." Additional historical information about this pristine, intact farm can be found on on the National Register of Historic Places.