Malabar Farm State Park is a state park in Richland County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, located near Lucas and the Mohican State Park.

History

Nestled in the hills of Pleasant Valley, Malabar Farm was built in 1939 by Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Louis Bromfield Louis Bromfield (December 27, 1896 – March 18, 1956) was an American writer and conservationist. A bestselling novelist in the 1920s, he reinvented himself as a farmer in the late 1930s and became one of the earliest proponents of sustainab ...

and was his home until his death in 1956. Bromfield grew up in Pleasant Valley. His passion for horticulture developed when he was in France, and it took him on two long trips to India, which were the inspiration for one of his most critically acclaimed bestsellers, ''

The Rains Came ''The Rains Came'' is a 1939 20th Century Fox film based on an American novel by Louis Bromfield (published in June 1937 by Harper & Brothers). The film was directed by Clarence Brown and stars Myrna Loy, Tyrone Power, George Brent, Brenda ...

'' (1937). He used the proceeds from the book to finance Malabar Farm, saying that “nothing could be more appropriate than giving the farm an

Indian name Indian names are based on a variety of systems and naming conventions, which vary from region to region. Names are also influenced by religion and caste and may come from epics. India's population speaks a wide variety of languages and nearl ...

because India made it possible.”. On returning to Ohio, he bought a farm from Clement Herring in December 1938, and bought adjacent farms in 1940 and 1941. In all, he owned 595 acres of land. Bromfield chose architect Louis Lamoreux of Mansfield to help him design and construct a 19-room Greek revival style home, that he dubbed the "Big House". The Bromfield family moved to Pleasant Valley in 1939 and lived in the “Fleming house” until their “Big House” was built. The original Herring house was used as the center of the construction. The Big House was expanded from this focus point and made to look like sections had been added on over the years. Bromfield was constantly ordering changes to rooms and walls. Thus, the project was dragged out for 18 months.Carter, John T. Louis Bromfield and the Malabar Farm Experience. Amereon: Mattituck, NY. 1995. The 32-room Western Reserve-style homestead, where Bromfield wrote many of his books, attracted film stars, artists, politicians, writers, and conservationists annually. As many as 20,000 people visited the farm every year.Malabar Farm: The Dream of Louis Bromfield. ODNR Video Production. 1995. Sunday tours alone attracted 100 to 200 people. On May 21, 1945, Bromfield hosted Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall's wedding and honeymoon at Malabar Farm. Malabar was often visited by celebrities, including

Kay Francis Kay Francis (born Katharine Edwina Gibbs; January 13, 1905 – August 26, 1968) was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 an ...

Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...

Ina Claire Ina Claire (born Ina Fagan; October 15, 1893February 21, 1985) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Ina Fagan was born October 15, 1893 in Washington, D.C. After the death of her father, Claire began doing imitations of fellow b ...

Mayo Methot Mayo Jane Methot (March 3, 1904 – June 9, 1951) was an American film and stage actress. She appeared in over 30 films, as well as in various Broadway productions, though she attracted significant media attention for her tempestuous marriage t ...

and James Cagney. The farm spread over 1000 acres of land. At one point, 200 acres were set aside for apple trees, but they ended up costing Bromfield money. Because of this, he got out of apple production. He also stopped his egg production, as well as his sheep and hog breeding. He chose to focus on beef and dairy. Additionally, Bromfield developed a technique known as conservation farming. This was based on grass farming, which produced large quantities of forage and pasture. Using expertise and labor from New Deal agencies like the

Soil Conservation Service Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and ...

and

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

, Bromfield rehabilitated his land and in the process learned the principles of

soil conservation Soil conservation is the prevention of loss of the topmost layer of the soil from erosion or prevention of reduced fertility caused by over usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. Slash-and-burn and other uns ...

. He later turned Malabar into a showcase for what he called the “New Agriculture.” Among the novel farming techniques that he promoted at Malabar were the use of green manures,

contour plowing Contour bunding or contour farming or Contour ploughing is the farming practice of plowing and/or planting across a slope following its elevation contour lines. These contour lines create a water break which reduces the formation of rills and g ...

, “ trash farming,”

sheet composting In permaculture, sheet mulching is an agricultural no-dig gardening technique that attempts to mimic the natural soil-building process in forests. When deployed properly and in combination with other permaculture principles, it can generate healt ...

and

strip cropping Strip cropping is a method of farming which involves cultivating a field partitioned into long, narrow strips which are alternated in a crop rotation system. It is used when a slope is too steep or when there is no alternative method of preventin ...

. Malabar Farm became a national model for sustainable agriculture. In addition to this, Bromfield experimented with composting using manure from livestock on the farm. Square fields were changed to follow the lie of the land so as to discourage erosion. 140 acres were put aside for timber. In 1958, Bromfield's children gave the farm to a conservation foundation—Friends of the Land in lieu of debts Bromfield had incurred. In August 1972, the deed of Malabar Farm was accepted by the state of Ohio after the Louis Bromfield Malabar Farm Foundation—which had been operating the farm—faced foreclosure. In 1976, the farm became a state park. On April 4, 1993 a fire destroyed the main barn. In September 1994, 150 volunteers from the Timber Framers Guild of North America raised a new barn in resemblance of the original.

Hostelling International Hostelling International (HI), formerly known as International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF), is a grouping of more than seventy National Youth Hostel Associations in over eighty countries, with over 4,000 affiliated hostels around the worl ...

USA had operated a 19-bed

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ...

for years in a farmhouse that was acquired when Malabar Farm was given to the State of Ohio. This was closed in late 2017 by Hostelling International due to diminished public interest and use after running continuously since 1979. To date the building is unused.

Points of interest within the Park

Malabar Farm Inn

Malabar Farm Inn is a historic

stagecoach inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point (layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...

built in 1820. The two-story brick building was restored as a restaurant, offering home-cooked dining. The Malabar Inn Restaurant closed in late 2018. It has since then reopened on June 8th, 2021. Just to the east of the restaurant lies Malabar Spring. In 1946, Louis Bromfield designed a roadside market stand that could use the spring to keep market items cool. Sporadically, visitors could purchase fresh, local produce at the market stand. Under various management philosophies at ODNR, sporadically, visitors could purchase fresh, local produce which is cooled by flowing spring water. The garden market ceased operation upon closure of the Malabar Inn Restaurant in 2018.

Pugh Cabin

This authentic, rustic log-cabin style home was built in the 1940s by Bromfield's neighbor, Jim Pugh. The cabin was used to film a few of the opening scenes in the 1994 film ''

The Shawshank Redemption ''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. It tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), w ...

''.

The Ceely Rose House

The miller's house, mentioned in the ''Pleasant Valley'' collection of ghost stories, was the 19th Century home of a young, mentally challenged girl named Ceely Rose. In 1896, Ceely Rose murdered her three-person family by poisoning their food with arsenic. Annually in October, the ''Ceely Rose Play'' is performed in the park's timber frame barn, as part of a ghost story trilogy. The other two plays are ''Phoebe Wise'' and ''Louie''. In 2014, an episode of ''Ghost Hunters'' was filmed at the Ceely Rose House. The episode, entitled Family Plot, aired on the SyFy channel. The ''Ghost Hunter''s crew investigates claims of paranormal activities stemming from the 1896 triple murder. On this same episode, they also spend time inside Louis Bromfield's "Big House" at Malabar Farm, again trying to document reported paranormal activity.

Malabar Farm Events

Maple Sugaring Festival

A festival dedicated to early Ohio's winter tradition of making maple syrup. This festival takes place the first two weekends in March. During the sugaring off days, at the farm, learn about the process of harvesting sap from trees, boiling the liquid down to syrup, making candies, sugar, and other sweet treats. There are many activities and demonstrations available with free admission.

Heritage Days

One of the state's largest outdoor craft shows. The festival includes various

living history Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...

reenactments, including of the civil war era and buck-skinners.

Wagon Tours

Tours run seasonally.

Barn Dances

An evening Square Dance occurs monthly in the Big Barn with a live band during the warmer seasons. The

traditional square dance Traditional square dance is a generic American term for any style of American square dance other than modern Western. The term can mean (1) any of the American regional styles (broadly, Northeastern, Southeastern, and Western) that existed befor ...

style with informal attire welcomes all experience levels and ages. Wagon rides are usually offered during the dance near Halloween.

References

External links

Malabar Farm State Park Official SiteMalabar Farm Foundation
*Malabar Farm Hostel
Mohican State Park Official Site
{{authority control Farms on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Farm museums in Ohio State parks of Ohio Protected areas of Richland County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Richland County, Ohio Historic house museums in Ohio Museums in Richland County, Ohio Historic districts in Ohio Protected areas established in 1939 Biographical museums in Ohio Literary museums in the United States 1939 establishments in Ohio Houses in Richland County, Ohio