Land’s Sake was founded in 1980 by a small group of agrarian-minded community members who wanted to institutionalize sustainable public land stewardship and energize land-loving people to celebrate and preserve the historical agricultural heritage of Weston. The group included Doug Henderson, Martha Gogel, Alan Orth, and Brian Donahue.
In the spring of 1981, they began farming the land at the “Case 40 Acre Field”, where our farm stand is still located. At the time, the land was owned by Harvard University as part of the Arnold Arboretum. After a few successful farming seasons, Land’s Sake became a household name in Weston and the surrounding community.
In 1985, Harvard University decided to sell the Case 40 Acre Field. Land’s Sake led the effort to save the land from development. A coalition of community groups galvanized town voters to purchase the land. Land’s Sake has licensed the land from the town ever since.
In 1991, the town-funded Green Power program, first begun by Bill McElwain in 1970 off Merriam Street, was merged with Land’s Sake and Land’s Sake Farm became the home for this high school farming program. Over the years, Land’s Sake has expanded educational programming to serve the needs of students ages pre-K to adult.
Land’s Sake works with the Weston Public Schools as well as many other schools and colleges across Metro Boston. This educational work is part of a long tradition of agricultural education in Weston, dating back to the Hillcrest Gardens of Marian Case, where boys learned farming and horticulture skills starting in 1909.
Land’s Sake continues to grow our educational offerings to meet the ever-growing demand for programs related to food, sustainability and ecology. More of our story of community stewardship can be found by reading Reclaiming the Commons by Brian Donahue, one of Land’s Sake’s founders.
Land’s Sake and Land Preservation in Weston
1863: The Case family comes to Weston
1864: Marian Case is born (dies 1944)
1889: Case Mansion is built
1909: Marian Case opens Hillcrest Gardens, staffed by the “Hillcrest Boys.” Closes in 1943.
1927: The Case Barn is built
1938: A hurricane destroys over 10,000 trees in Weston
1942: Case family sells 58 acres to Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum.
1955: Weston begins to form a town forest; Weston Forest and Trail Association is founded
1961: Weston establishes Conservation Commission
1971: Green Power Farm opens on Merriam Street
1973: The Sugar Shack is built next to the Middle school
1972-74: Weston purchases 1,000 acres of conservation land
1980: Land’s Sake founded
1985: The town purchases the 40-acre Case Field from Harvard (now Land’s Sake Farm)
1989: Conservation Commission approves 1st long-range forest management plan for the town
1990: Land’s Sake moves into the Melone House