Stonewall Farm on Chesterfield Road in Keene has been in agricultural use for the past 250 years. The rich history goes back to the mid-1700s to Samuel Daniels, who owned the property and sold it to his son John in 1759. This property was divided and changed ownership several times until it was purchased by Isaiah Robbins in 1832. The property was in the Robbins family for 76 years but eventually sold to Swedish immigrants named “Johnson” who had about 50 cows. They created a milk delivery service in the Keene area.

In May 1910, a chimney fire completely destroyed the large farmhouse and the family had to live in the carriage barn while the house was being rebuilt. A duplicate farmhouse with sixteen rooms was built and still stands today.

Both the Johnson daughters married and lived on the farm with their husbands. In 1922, one of them had a son named Norm Chase Jr., who started milking the cows when he was just seven years old! He and his cousin Emil kept the dairy going. When Norm was 25, Nanny Johnson died without a will and Norm literally had to buy back the farm. Having strong ties to his family’s property and to farm life, Norm wanted to see the acreage remain as a working farm even though he had no heirs. He sought a buyer to keep the farm intact.

Norm and his wife Peggy worked together with Mike Kidder, a friend, and neighbor, who purchased the farm in 1989 to ensure that what we now know as Stonewall Farm would remain an open, productive, working landscape to benefit the entire community. The educational dimension of the working farm and the first maple-sugaring program for school children emerged in 1991. In the fall of 1994, Stonewall Farm was officially founded as a non-profit organization and obtained 501 (C) 3 status.