What a wonderful piece of local history...
The history of Saunderskill Farms (named for the tributary of the Rondout Creek that flows through it) is as rich as the soil that has supported it for 12 generations. Originally granted to Lieutenant Hendrick J. Schoonmaker by Peter Stuyvesant in 1663 as payment for military service, the family's original 300 acres of prime Rondout bottomland has been continuously farmed since 1680.
Second in age only to the Hull family farm in Southhold, Long Island, Saunderskill Farm now includes more than 800 acres of vegetables, flowers and orchards. The stone manor house, built in 1787, still stands on the property, as does the barn that housed oxen used to pull barges on the Delaware & Hudson Canal, a section of which meanders through the property. Saunderskill is one of the few farms in the nation to have received the rare Tricentennial Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Jack and Alice Schoonmaker still reside at and run the farm, along with their sons David and Danny.
The farm stand, along Route 209 in Accord, is run by Danny and his wife Cathy.
This is an old fashioned stand with many baked goods, fresh sandwiches and soups, cider donuts and on and on!!
The greenhouses are busting with wonderful annuals and perennials as well as
The coffee is wonderful. I often will go there on a weekend morning and sit outside listening to the new water garden gurgle and reading the paper. How relaxing...
If you find yourself in this area, be sure to stop by...it is worth the trip!!