Dunbarton – Stone Farm

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Stone Road
237 acres of farmland, fields, and forest
Public access, no formal trails
January 2017

The rich history of Stone Farm goes back to the 1780’s when the first Stone ancestor farmed this land and is evidenced by spectacular foundations and cellar holes that tell the story of two centuries of life and farming in this corner of Dunbarton. Generations of the Stone Family raised agricultural crops from hops to apples to dairy cows. Today, hay from the farm feeds beef cattle. Logs and firewood are harvested sustainably. Visitors can see relics of buildings from long ago. Wildlife roams freely through the Stone Farm and surrounding conserved lands – now over 600 acres in all.

To learn more about the history of the farm, click here.

The Dunbarton Conservation Commission plans to create a public trail on the property in the near future, exploring some of the remarkable stone foundations and stone walls that speak to the land’s past use.

Geological Center of New England

Stone Farm is also significant because, according to several geographers, it is the geological center of New England. From science.answers.com: “The geological center of New England is located at 43.117199 degrees latitude and -71.593498 degrees longitude, at the intersection of Guinea and Stone roads in Dunbarton. The person to officially answer that question was Suchi Gopal, professor in Boston University’s Department of Geography and Environment. Gopal used the center of gravity, or “centroid,” method. “A mathematical calculation that uses a digital representation of the six New England states is the most accurate because it’s based on a math algorithm that the computer uses to calculate the center based on the boundaries,” Gopal said. Her calculation, she added, also took into account the irregular coastline of Maine and the islands off the coast of Massachusetts.

In fairness, there are other methods for determining the geographic center of New England and other towns also make the claim: Norway, Maine; Wakefield, NH; and Sanford, Maine.