Emery Farm (Stratham, New Hampshire)
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Emery Farm is a historic farm property at 16 Emery Lane in
Stratham, New Hampshire Stratham is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town had a population of 7,669 at the 2020 census. It is bounded on the west by the Squamscott River. The town is the home of the only U.S. Lindt & Sprüngli factory an ...
. The farmhouse, built about 1740, is a fine example of period architecture, with later 19th century stylistic alterations. The property is notable as one of New Hampshire's first
market garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to s ...
farms, a practice adopted by John Emery in 1855. The property was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 2017.


Description and history

Emery Farm is located in the dispersed center of Stratham, on the west side of Emery Lane, a former through road now bypassed by Portsmouth Street (
New Hampshire Route 108 New Hampshire Route 108 is a north–south state highway in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham and Strafford County, New Hampshire, Strafford counties in southeastern New Hampshire. The southern terminus of NH 108 is at the Massachus ...
) just to the east. The property includes a large house and barn. The house is a large -story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, central brick chimney, and clapboarded exterior. Windows are framed by simple moulded trim, while the centered entrance is framed by pilasters and a corniced entablature. Its interior follows a typical center-chimney plan, with a narrow vestibule that has a winding staircase, and parlor spaces to either side of the chimney. A two-story ell extends to the rear. The barn is a large 19th-century structure, with an attached
corn crib A corn crib or corncrib is a type of granary used to dry and store corn. It may also be known as a cornhouse or corn house. Overview After the harvest and while still on the cob, corn is placed in the crib either with or without the husk. The ...
, several animal stalls, and space used historically as living space by farmhands. The main block of the house was built about 1740, and in its early years served as Chase's Tavern, a meeting place at which civic and commercial activity took place in the rural community. It was enlarged by the Emery family to accommodate several generations. In 1855 John Emery began producing cash crop vegetables, which he sold door-to-door in communities from
Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
to
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
. This is believed to be the first instance of market garden farming in the state, and the practice spread to a number of Stratham's other farms. Emery is also credited with introducing fresh
strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit is appreciated f ...
to Portsmouth, something that had otherwise been a scarce commodity. The property continued to be used for many years as a market garden farm by Emery's son John Fred Emery.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Rockingham County, New Hampshire This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Rockingham County, New Hampshire. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Rockingham County, ...


References

{{NRHP in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Greek Revival houses in New Hampshire Houses completed in 1740 Houses in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Farms on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire National Register of Historic Places in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Stratham, New Hampshire