H &G50

bartl

ett

’s f

arm

n a n t u c k e t�

This was William R. Bartlett’s property that he bought aftermoving to Nantucket from Marblehead, Massachusetts, and,like many others of that era, he utilized it as a “sustenance farm.” There were scattered small gardens justample enough to feed his family, some cows and chickens,horses and hay. Neighbors bartered with each other to fulfilltheir needs. It was a simple life devoid of frills.

Today the panorama is vastly different.There are several large, high-techgreenhouses, with more than onehundred of the over two hundred acresunder cultivation, housing for farmworkers and a very busy, modern kitcheninstalled in the remaining barn thatproduces ready-to-eat confections,entrées and sandwiches sold in its farmmarket. From William through what isnow a sixth, predominately patriarchal,lineage, the farm has grown in size,scope and success, as each oneoverseeing its operation has left hisfootprint in the soil of history.

Eventually, William enlarged his holdingsby acquiring adjacent small family farmsof ten to thirty acres, each no longerbeing planted, according to Phil Bartlett, William’s great-great grandson. William began adding more cows to his

herd, initiating what would become one of the Island’s largestdairy businesses.

William passed the torch to his son Albert, who ran the farmfrom the mid to late 1800s, and increased the number of cows.

Albert begat John H. Bartlett, who oversaw the farm fromroughly 1890 to 1920.

His son, John H. Bartlett, Jr., known bymany as “June,” was the first “educated”Bartlett farmer, graduating in 1920 withthe first class of a two-year agriculturalprogram at the University ofMassachusetts at Stockbridge. Aftercollege, June returned to Nantucket towork with his father, later taking over thefarm until his death in 1974. By the late1930s, Bartlett’s Dairy was at its height.As did several other dairymen, they hadtheir own milk route, selling to privatecustomers and supplying local stores. Buthard times came after World War II, whenhelp was difficult to find, and thereseemed to be too much milk available inwinter and too little to meet the summerdemand, Phil recalls. In addition, the

advent of pasteurization required costly modernization ofdairy facilities that John Bartlett Sr., decided to retire. June’s

Once upon a time, about two hundred years ago, the view at Bartlett’s Farm in Cisco was pastoral,

a scene of perhaps sixty mostly untilled acres dotted with a small house, a barn and a few sheds.

John H. Bartlett, Jr. (“June”)July 9, 1900 - June 30, 1974

A look at six generations of changeand expansion at Bartlett’s Farm

by Mary Lancaster

BARTLETT’S•FARMN A N T U C K E T

H &G 51

b a r t l e t t ’ s f a r mnantu

cket

�

mother only outlived his father by two months, both passingin 1947. Phil says the family phased out the cows but kept itsmilk route, purchasing milk from Martha’s Vineyard. By theearly 1950s, the route became unprofitable and was sold toWilliam Grieder.

At this point, June decided to try his hand at sheep farming.Phil remembers his father bringing a small flock from themainland loose on the ferry boat, then driving them throughthe streets of town out to the farm. The venture was not to last,however. The sheep developed dreaded hoof and mouthdisease and had to be destroyed.

Incrementally, June’s son Phil assumed more responsibility onthe farm. At the age of 12, he proposed raising his owntomatoes in his grandmother’s and mother’s yards. Phil hadbeen studying his father’s craft and believed he couldimprove on what the farm offered its customers. During thisperiod, June already had been growing potatoes and turnipsthat he fed to the sheep and sold to locals to tide themthrough the winter. In 1953, Phil began selling vegetables offa truck in town, and the family’s goods were also purchasedby the A&P and Snow’s Market when both stores were onMain Street.

“It was beets, carrots, tomatoes, whatever we had,” Philremembers.

The next year, when Phil left the Island to learn aboutvegetable crops at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture,his younger brother Henry and June’s brother Victor workedthe truck sales. June took the reins in the late 1950s. June’sother son John helped picking in the fields and aided June inplanting potatoes. Phil went on to serve three years in theMarines, then returned to Cornell where he met his wife,Dorothy, who earned a Master’s degree in Education. Philgraduated in 1961with a Bachelor of Science degree andthe couple moved permanently to Nantucket.

Sales of produce and flowers didn’t begin at the farm untilthe early 1970s, following construction of the first threegreenhouses and a small retail building, says Dorothy,adding that town traffic and parking was becoming hecticand they also wanted a place to sell their plants, growingmaterials and plant pots. But people loved to shop at theMain Street wagon, perhaps as much to spend time withJune as to take home a bag of delicious, fresh vegetables.With his sweet face, gentle demeanor and friendly attitudetoward everyone he spoke with, June captured many a

H &G52

Bartl

ett

’s f

arm

n a n t u c k e t�

heart. He had a special knack for conversation, even if he’dnever seen you before. He also knew just how to tell if amelon was ripe and which were the perfect tomatoes for yourneeds. And June held court with his buddies — Tom Devineand Charlie Norton, among throngs of others, who ambledto the truck to share stories and simply pass the mornings ina tradition long gone. After June’s death, a commemorativemonument was placed on the sidewalk on Main Street nextto the parking spot the truck has held for decades. It reads,“He loved the dawn, he loved the soil, he loved mankind,and all Nantucket loved ‘June.’”

Dorothy and Phil slowly expanded the fields and tried raisingbeef cattle. While their herd of Black Angus eventuallyreached more than seventy, the couple decided theypreferred to use the land for crops instead of grazing, endingthe cattle business at the onset of the 1980s. And, as thevegetable and flower inventory increased, the Bartlettsrecognized a need to improve harvesting and expand theentire facility.

Much to his farm hands’ joy and relief, Phil introduced themechanized potato picker, ending the back-strainingprocedure of bending to gather each tilled spud by hand.Remodeling began in 1985 with the addition of large,modern glass greenhouses. “At that point, our children weregraduating from high school and were interested infarming,” notes Dorothy. Gaining vast amounts ofinformation during travels and interaction with othermembers of Bedding Plants International, Dorothy and Philfound they could stretch their sales beyond summer by usingthe technologically advanced greenhouses to start plantingearlier and “finish off” imported plants. It allowed them forthe first time to have year-round workers at the farm.

“It took us from spring growing to spring, summer and fallgrowing, and that developed the plant business,” sheexplains. “In spring we had plants, in summer we had thevegetable business and cut flowers, and in fall we hadplants.”

The next phase of expansion was an unintended windfall. In1994, Bartlett’s published a cookbook in response tocustomer’s questions about how to prepare the vegetablesthey bought. Recipes from the cookbook were written on achalkboard displayed in the greenhouse to promote booksales, but then people started asking if they could buy thedish itself. Dorothy says that was the birth of the farm’skitchen and farm market concept.

“Going from plants and vegetables to the market was just afurther extension,” says Dorothy. “It was like everybody elseon Nantucket wondering how you can extend your season.”

And so, in 1996, the old dairy barn that became a producesales barn became a sleek, bright kitchen. The Bartlett’s hireda chef and the market took off in popularity faster thananyone anticipated.

“Once we started producing things from the kitchen, therewas a natural progression of what goes with these dishes,and we brought in auxiliary items like sauces, pastas, oils,”Dorothy explains. “It made life easier for people. It’s a wholeprocess of being creative and changing.”

Changing times for Phil and Dorothy means recognizing thattheir turn to pass the torch is approaching. Callingthemselves already partially retired and taking more

H &G 53

b a r t l e t t ’ s f a r mnantu

cket

�

H &G54

“advisory” roles, they appreciate and are proud of theresponsibilities their four children are assuming in the farm’soperation. The firstborn, Cynthia Bartlett Bopp, holds adegree in accounting from the Rochester Institute ofTechnology and is their bookkeeper. John, the oldest son,followed in Phil’s footsteps and earned a degree in vegetablecrop production at Cornell. He heads the vegetable growingbusiness and is now officially the CEO. David studiedagriculture and is a co-grower with John, specializing intomatoes. David’s twin brother Daniel graduated fromNortheastern University with a criminal justice degree, andfills a vital role maintaining the farm’s mechanical equipment.John’s wife Rebecca, another Cornellian, works in humanresources and is the CFO.

Phil and Dorothy are also grandparents of what may be theseventh generation of Bartlett farmers. When they beganplanning their estate, they sought a means of passing on thefarm to their heirs without causing them financial burden. Inan arrangement with the Nantucket Land Council, theBartletts agreed to sell the property’s development rights topreserve its open space. The Land Council’s option to buy apermanent conservation restriction lasted through January

2004 and was negated when $6 million was raised throughdonations to purchase more than 100 acres on the farmparcel.

“We wanted to find a way to pay the taxes so when Phil andI die, the children don’t have to sell the property to paythem,” Dorothy says of the arrangement. “The idea was tosell the development rights and use that money to pay thefederal tax, to ultimately save the property.”

Naturally the Bartletts hope their children and grandchildrenwill keep the farm going and continue a tradition ofgenerations before them. Not only is the farm their legacy, itis an important and treasured part of the fabric of Island life.Looking at the farm’s long history, there is no doubt manychanges have occurred since William’s day. Reflecting on thelife of a farmer, Phil says though it is far from glamorous oreasy, the rewards are rich and deeply satisfying to the soul.

“It was a very ordinary time, there was a lot of activity. Itwas good to be around the animals and work outdoors,” hesays of his youth and how he feels now. “I enjoyed watchingthings grow and still do.”

John M. Allen

bartl

ett

’s f

arm

n a n t u c k e t�

H &G 55

The Bartlett Farm Windmill

We are proud and excited to be producing electricity locally

with a renewable source of energy that is abundant and will not

pollute our environment.

The turbine sits on a 30 meter tower (98’5”)

The top of the blade at its highest point of rotation is 145’6”

The turbine is modeled to produce approximately 500,000

kilowatts of power annually.

We have received grants from the United States Department of

Agriculture Rural Development and the Massachusetts

Technology Collaborative totaling about 60% of the projects

total cost.

The turbine will provide all the electrical needs of the farm

stand and approximately 80% of the farm’s overall electrical usage.

Quint Waters

Carolina Yanez

b a r t l e t t ’ s f a r mnantu

cket

�