Adams Farm is a typical New England farm. Since the Adamses first purchased the farm in 1865, the farm has, like most farms, run along the same path as the economy. Out of necessity, each new economic trend changed the farm in different ways. Up until the 1980s, the farm mainly produced lumber, wooden products, maple syrup, and milk. Until the 1960s, the farm welcomed seasonal visitors and ran a bed and breakfast. These days, the farm still produces maple syrup, timber, and milk (from goats). However, the focus is on activities that allow the public to experience life on a farm as well as the unique Vermont scenery.

1865: Henry and Sarah Adams purchased the Adams Farm. Timber, maple sugar, inventions, and cows and sheep became the economy of the farm.

1865 to 1930's: With the help of C.C. Haynes, Henry Adams invented and patented a type of liquid holder used in the production of maple syrup. They also invented and manufactured large-scale evaporators for finishing syrup. Other inventions included a liquid holding tank used for watering livestock, which would not freeze during the winter; a sliding oxen yolk and several types of wheelbarrows. Henry built a woodshop on the farm to manufacture the new and popular coopered wooden tanks and various other products. These tanks were produced on the farm until the 1930's, when the invention of galvanized metal replaced the popularity of wood. Henry and his son Walter ran the farm together for many years and maintained a herd of 15 registered milking Durham cattle.

1880's: The farm was opened to visitors as a bed and breakfast.

1930's: Walter and Ada continued to run the B&B, and produced maple syrup and timber. Walter also manufactured finished products in the wood shop. His son Louis expanded on the amount of lumber being produced on the farm and made weekly timber deliveries to the shipyards of Boston to support the war effort.

1940's & 1950's: Louis and his wife Doris decided to increase the size of their dairy herd and bring in some of those newly imported mega-milk producing Holstein Friesian Cattle. Doris continued to run the farmhouse bed and breakfast during the summer months, and in 1954, she opened the house up to guests in the winter, who came to learn the area's newest sport, alpine skiing.

1969: Louis and Doris' son William and his wife, Sharon, purchased the farm and increased the herd of milking Holsteins and the production of milk. With the expansion of the farm's milk production, the family no longer had the time to maintain the business as a guesthouse and closed the farmhouse to the public. As the price of milk dropped in the late 1970's, the need for a supplemental income arose.

1980: Bill and Sharon purchased their first team of Belgian draft horses from the Amish country, built a small log cabin at the far end of the property from the trees that great-grandpa Adams had planted, and started a sleigh ride business that would use the cabin as a place to warm up on cold winters' nights.

1986: Adams Farm participated in the "Whole Herd Buy-Out Program" initiated during President Reagan's term, in an effort to solve the surplus milk problem in America. Bill and Sharon used the money to purchase heavy equipment and utilize the farm's gravel pit to go along with the real estate boom in the area. In the winter, they continued to run their successful sleigh ride business, made maple syrup in spring, and maintained the crops during summer and fall.

1990's: Tourists were stopping at the farm at all times of the year, wanting to see the animals, taking pictures of the buildings, wanting to learn more about life on a farm, about Vermont, and about the multi-generations.

1993: Bill and Sharon's daughter and son-in-law, Jill and Carl Mancivalano, decided to open the farm to the public as a fun, interactive, educational and wholesome farm experience. They registered an official business name with the State of Vermont and became: The Original Adams Farm.

1998 - 2003: Vermont Chamber of Commerce calls the Adams Farm "an agricultural mecca" and has been voted "Top 10 Things to do in Vermont" since 1998. Adams Farm has become a premier attraction in the state of Vermont for Agricultural Tourism. They have won numerous awards for their unique offerings and have captivated national attention for their sustainable way of life. They currently raise a variety of animals including sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens, draft horses, pigs, llamas, an alpaca, ponies, miniature donkeys, and ducks. Items produced from the farm include maple syrup and other maple products, goat's milk soap, woolen products, sauces, jams and mustards, yarn and fiber, and fudge. In addition to the sleigh rides, activities include animal visits and presentations, wagon and tractor rides, bonfire parties, hay jumps, afternoon tea, sheep herding demonstrations, yarn spinning, knitting, and other fiber arts, agricultural and entertainment presentations, and private functions. The Farm Store offers farm products, crafts, gifts, Vermont products, and more.

Adams Farm is a working sixth-generation farm in southern Vermont, offering the public seasonal activities and agricultural interactive experiences for the whole family, as well as a complete Farm Store and Quilt & Fiber Arts Loft. Adams Farm has been rated as a "Top Ten Great Places to Ride into a Currier and Ives" by USA Today, "Top Ten Vermont Attraction" by Vermont Magazine, an "Editors' Pick" by Yankee Magazine Travel Guide to New England, and was named the 2003 Vermont Sustainable Farm of the Year. For rates and more information, call Adams Farm at 802-464-3762 or visit online at www.adamsfamilyfarm.com and shop.adamsfamilyfarm.com.