History of East Hill Farm: The 2000s
What a journey the past 74 years have been! From the early days of housing only 30 guests, to our current capacity of 140, we have been fortunate to meet and make many lifelong friends that call East Hill Farm their home away from home. You are truly our extended Farm family!
The Inn at East Hill Farm will be celebrating our 75th Anniversary during the weekend of February 4-6, 2022. As with all celebrations, it is more fun to have your friends and loved ones to celebrate with. Please mark your calendars and consider joining us for this momentous occasion!
We will be sharing photos, behind the scenes, and fun stories in a series of monthly blog, Instagram, and Facebook posts leading up to the celebration. While the Inn’s history dates to 1772, we are focusing on what it has been since right after WWII, an agritourism destination.
The 2000s started out with a bang! It was an exciting New Year Eve at East Hill Farm as we welcomed in the new millennium! It was a memorable party for all.
Throughout the 2000s construction continued and more new activities were added to our program. In 2002 and 2003, the Annex and connecting Guest House were demolished and replaced by the Olde Farmhouse. Although not in current use at the time, the old building also housed an indoor pool in the basement and the former office. The Adams family had previously lived in this building for many years starting in the mid 1970s until the late 1980s.
The Annex and Guest House were both large three-bedroom units, so the Farmhouse was built with larger families in mind. It can accommodate at least four families, sometimes more depending on the configuration. All the units have their own entrances, but units 1 & 2, 3, and 6 can connect internally. Farmhouse 1 & 2 have a living room with a fireplace. Farmhouse 4 & 5 is a two-bedroom unit and has a living room with a fireplace.
The demolition of the building hit a little snag when the excavator fell into the basement. Farmer Dave might have forgotten to mention that there was a full cellar under ½ of the building!
Farmhouse 6 was added after the original completion of the building. This unit was going to be storage, but instead was turned into another guest accommodation with two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a private screened-in porch.
The equestrian program added a fun and adventurous rodeo for a few summers. Riders would practice skills and challenges throughout the week and show them off during the rodeo at the end of the week. For years, pony rides were offered on the lawn during the Wednesday and Saturday cocktail parties. In the 2000s, pony rides moved from the lawn to the corral at the barn. This was certainly and end of an era.
On Fridays in the summer, guests gathered to watch the EHF Talent Show on the lawn. Kids had practiced all week and had a blast showing off their unique talents during the show.
“Open Mic Night”, a time for guests to sing and play music together, was initiated on Wednesday nights for teens and adults. We have enjoyed listening to our talented guests over the years, especially when they write original tunes just for EHF! Adventurous folks enjoyed the outdoor obstacle course in the woods. This included a rope swing, A-frame climbing wall, slippery log walk and a puzzle. The recreation staff remembers mosquitos being the biggest obstacle of all!
Farmer Dave began teaching workshops for butter making and cheese making. I am sure many of you have fond memories of making butter and cheese with Farmer Dave.
In 2005, East Hill Farm was featured on NH Chronicle. (Click HERE for the video clip.) The video provided the Inn with great exposure to NH residents and our phones rang off the hook!
In 2005, Penelope was born. She is the daughter of Maria and the mother of our newest donkey, Piper. Penelope and Piper are the current donkeys at East Hill Farm. Penelope sure was a cutie.
Most notably, in 2008, Dave and Sally Adams officially retired. They have remained active participants of East Hill Farm ever since.
This sure was another busy decade at East Hill Farm. What are you favorite farm memories from the 2000s?
Watch for our final installment of The History of East Hill Farm coming soon.
Blog submitted by Holly.
We began our ten plus consecutive year visits starting in 2005 in March with our sons, 2 years and 3 months old. We also chose mud season specifically to be away from the crowds. Every year as they grew, they got more and more involved in what was happening at the farm so each year was different. With often few other guests, they got to know the farmers and most especially connected with Dennis. They learned how to feed the animals, milk cows, goats, bottle feed lambs and even shovel the manure! They had fun snowshoeing, cross country skiing, sledding and even had their first horseback riding experience here. As the mom, even though I enjoy cooking, I loved not having to cook a meal on vacation and enjoyed every bite of the meals served by Jamie. Hello honey wheat bread and tomato soup! I miss those farm days., now one son is in college and the other is going in the fall, but I am so grateful for the lasting memories.
Thank you so much for sharing your memories of EHF. Everything you describe is still happening today. East Hill Farm traditions run strong!
Our first year at the farm was during Christmas 2001 and we stayed in the annex. We have enjoyed our many trips back to the farm. We have made many long term friends at the farm. We have such great memories from the farm.
Wasn’t the Annex a trip! Thanks for visiting all these years. We look forward to hosting you for many years to come.
We started coming to The Inn at East Hill Farm in 1990, when our oldest daughter was 3 months old. We always came the third week in August, where we immediately bonded with other guests, who came the same week. We enjoyed all of the activities, especially the Saturday night Bingo game and the Wednesday night Staff versus Guests volleyball game. Another activity that we looked forward to every year was the guest shuffleboard tournament! Our kids enjoyed milking the cows and goats, the pony rides, and playing ping pong and swimming. The hike up Gap Mountain, and the trips to Silver Lake were worth remembering. The meals were outstanding! We would always guess the day before, what the next evenings Fritter would be! Our final summer visit was in 2005, when our daughters were 15 and 12 years old. Hoping to visit again soon. We really miss being there.
Thanks so much for sharing your EHF memories. We hope you are able to visit again soon as you will find many of the same fun activities happening along with some new additions.
East Hill Farm is a Fabulous place! Our first visit was during April vacation. My children were probably 10 and 8 years old . My daughter, Sarah loves the animals and activities. James likes the activities and the food. My daughter learned how to horse back ride at the farm.
Thanks for the memories! I’m glad to hear that your kids are fans of the activities, food and animals! We hope to see you again soon.
We were the first guests at the Sugar House and stayed there for 20+ years! I hope to bring my granddaughters soon!
The Sugar House is ready for you whenever you can visit! It is a great building for family gatherings.
My father, John Wedge, ran a square dance weekend at EHF every April from the 1970’s until the early 2000’s. My husband and I brought our children up a couple of times during their weekend towards the end. The kids called it Grammy’s farm and they had a blast! I know the adults thoroughly enjoyed the square dancing and fun that ensued. My father passed away on September 23rd. Nostalgia has brought back many amazing memories including both experiences and tales of the weekend at EHF. It will always remain part of my family’s history. Thank you!
Hello Michelle- I am so sorry to learn of the passing of your father. We remember him well at East Hill Farm. Thank you for sharing your memories of the farm and we hope you return some day. With sympathy, Jennifer Adams