Every one of our members is unique and so are their stories. Each week, the Group Member Spotlight takes a behind-the-scenes look at one of our group/business sponsorship members to showcase their story of who they are and what they do!
Our Next Group Spotlight is…..
Patterson’s Fruit Farm has a rich history in Chesterland. Seven generations of farmers have worked the farm, dedicating their lives to bringing fresh food to the people. The farm started in 1879 with Solomon and Mary Lyman Ferry farming at the corner of Ferry and Mulberry Roads. Their daughter, Vandora, married Augustus Patterson in 1879 as a farming operation selling fruit, eggs, and milk on a “route” in the eastern Cleveland area like the generation before them.
Their son N.C. (and wife Mabel) Patterson brought changes to the farm by helping to found the East Cleveland Farmers’ Market located in the heart of an urban area of Cleveland. This market became an excellent venue for selling produce from the farm. The transition from traditional farming (crops and livestock) began transitioning to more of a fruit farm. Maple syrup production was always a tradition and continues yet today.
N.C.and Mabel’s son, Samuel (and wife Iona), returned following graduation from The Ohio State University to continue the farming operation. He focused completely on fruit, which was sold at a small roadside stand on the farm as well as through the farmers’ market. Some wholesaling of apples along with cider were sold through Cleveland grocery stores.
Samuel eventually purchased a tract of land on Caves Road which adjoined the original farmstead at the corner of Mulberry and Ferry Roads. This is where he moved his family in the ‘50’s and built a farm market, which became the centerpiece for sales of Patterson Fruit Farm produce. Sam incorporated cold storage on this farm, storing and grading apples and related fruits there. The East Cleveland Farmers’ Market was still the popular place for city residents to purchase their fresh produce but this on-farm market also began to service a loyal following. In the 1950s, Sam and Iona were one of the pioneers in the direct marketing of products to the consumer.
Taking the advice of friends, Sam created a golf course which was laid out among the blocks of orchards. The closeness of location to an urban population as well as scenic beauty has proven this combination of fruit farming and golf course operation to be an excellent use of that land. Gradually the original orchards were sold off and others purchased further east. Some of the original land is still in the hands of the ancestors of Solomon and Mary Ferry.
Sam and Iona’s son, Jim (and wife Nancy), returned home following graduation from Ohio State to farm, eventually, alongside brothers Tom and Jack (Tom and Jack’s focus was the golf course). In the late ‘70’s Jim added a pick-your-own operation as a, then, unique way to market apples. It was so successful that membership at the East Cleveland Farmers’ Market was discontinued. Selling their high-quality cider through wholesale to the area grocery chains continued to flourish, but all other products were sold directly at the farm.
Jim and Nancy purchased Uncle Ken (married to Sam’s sister Dorothea) Sperry’s farm just a mile or so east of Caves Road on Mulberry Road and moved there in 1969 with their young family. This became the site of a pick-your-own strawberry operation, a 7-week Family Fun Fest each fall, pick your own apples and hayrides for families and organizations.
Source: ofbf.org
Photo Credit: Patterson Fruit Farm
Categories: Ohio, Crops, Fruits and Vegetables