Smolak Farms of North Andover combines agriculture, education, and entertainment in a very special way. Carved by glaciers, settled by prehistoric Indian tribes, colonized by English settlers and farmed today by descendants of Martin and Magdalenna Smolak, the farm is nestled in the hills of northeastern Massachusetts. Historic parts of the homestead are about 300 years old. In 1982, 107 of the 140 acres were preserved by the Agricultural Preservation Restriction Program, insuring that this area would forever remain open land, never to be developed. For the past 30 plus years, Mike Smolak has overseen the development of the farm from a dairy farm to the extraordinary place it is today.Today, visitors come to pick fruit from our orchards and shop at the farm stand and bakery featuring our famous apple cider donuts and mouth-watering pies. Children can go on one of the many types of educational or entertaining hayrides, have a birthday party, attend our summer programs and visit the animals. Families come to our festivals throughout the year. Our ice cream stand offers Treadwell's ice cream as well as soft serve and frozen yogurt. Our pine grove area and site on Orchard Hill are the perfect place for a function. Mostly, people come to relax and enjoy the beauty of the land and nature! Farm Stand and Greenhouse: The Farm Stand was built in about 1956 on the site of an old chicken coop that was built by Michael Smolak's grandfather. The wood that was used in this and all other buildings was from trees that came from the farm and were milled by the Farnum Sawmill on Farnum Street and the Adams Sawmill that was on Milk Street near the Drummond Playground in North Andover. The farm stand was originally used as a garage for their trucks and for storage. There was a pasture behind the stand and a shelter attached to the back for cows that were pregnant with calves. Mrs. Smolak had a flower garden on the side of the Farm Stand. It is now a parking area. The bakery began in 1985. The family wanted to make a few pies to sell. When Michael brought home a bag of muffin mix to try, the bakery began making those as well. The rest is history. The Greenhouse was built in 1992 as an extension to the stand, for growing a few plants, and for sitting and relaxing with a cup of coffee and a delicious treat from our bakery. In 2004, the Smolaks added an ice cream stand, called S'mo Licks, to the farm stand. In 2007, Treadwells took over the ice cream stand and now window customers, as well as Smolak Farms birthday party guests, can be seen enjoying a cool ice cream on a sunny day!
|
