History of Sweet And Savory Farm

Erastus Huntley worked on Lake Ontario as a sailor involved in commerce. He and his wife Rebecca bought the original 100-acre homestead from Holland Dutch Land Company about 1830. Erastus was interested in the property because of the large white pine trees. He built a simple log cabin on the high side bend of the creek which is now referred to as the horse pasture. During the winter you would see an ox pulling a bob sled full of white pine splits between Bear Lake, PA and Barcelona, NY. Closer inspection would show Erastus giving verbal commands to the ox as he used a draw shave making pine splits into barrel staves. Once in Barcelona he sold staves for barrel making for the lake’s commerce. Erastus added approximately 20 adjoining acres from Reuban Carr in 1832.

Erastus next built a simple frame house and then in the late 1840s he built a frame house which is still being used today. Later Erastus’s son William built on an L-shaped addition to the home. On the farm were a smokehouse for meat curing, hog house, and a barn for sheep, cattle, geese, chickens and turkeys. He had to get out of the turkey business due to the break out of black leg in his turkey flock.

William Huntley married Miranda Johnson. William continued to work the farm. He also owned some property in Bear Lake Village. By selling all large pines on tope of the hill, he added to the homestead by buying about 65 acres across the road for $1,600. William was concerned about keeping the homestead together. He willed homestead to heirs while giving his wife Miranda life occupancy. William was worried that his wife Miranda would sell the farm homestead and move into town. William built a home for his son Edwin and his family and had his son-in-law, John Morton, and his family move into the home across the street. The barn was moved across the road by horses. William Huntley passed away in 1898. Edwin and his family sold the home William built as he moved to care for family members, Proctor and Catherine Morton who lived on Huntley Road.

John Morton did some farming but mainly worked as a teamster. He and his horse teams hauled gravel, skidded logs, hauled logs and lumber. A couple jobs he did between 1908 and 1910 included hauling gravel from the dugway to the railroad line near the homestead. John also worked with his team on the Erie Canal for three days in exchange for a rifle which is still in the family. The train crossing he worked on over the Broken Straw is still being used today. John enjoyed hauling with Sturges because they worked well together. They would follow each other and then double hitch the team as they went over hills such as Cherry Hill. They often hauled from Bear Lake PA to Boomertown, NY. One winter John had a larger hauling job in Ludlow, which is 30-35 miles from the homestead. John would work the horses throughout the week as he stayed in the Ludlow area. He would walk home to Bear Lake and then back to Ludlow over the weekend so his horses would have a break.. When hiring farm help John had a couple rules. Never hire someone who wears a straw hat, smoked a pipe or wears high top boots because if he wasn’t chasing his hat or lighting his pipe he would be tying his boots. Always look how the pants are wearing out. Having worn knees implied a good worker while worn pant seats are an indicator of not a hard worker. John would say don’t hire them.

The homestead was then willed to Alden Fern Morton. He did a variety of farm activities, worked as teacher, worked for the township, worked for an insurance company, and was the tax assessor. Fern married Marjorie Esther Carter Morton, leaving many decedents through their five children. Fern worked the maple syrup production. The white pine stumps left on top of the hill where full of pitch. Fern, along with his two sons Hollis and George, pulled the stumps out with horses. These stumps were dragged to the bottom of the hill and the hot fire they made assisted in maple syrup production. Through the great depression the maple syrup production was used for bartering. Fern sold maple syrup for $5 per gallon for several years. Family loved having Maple sugar parties. Esther would boil the syrup down until that it “haired”, then we stirred it until white in color and candied. Sometimes, if the snow was right, they gathered in dishpans full of snow and packed it solid so we could drizzle the syrup and eat what we called wax … of course no sugar party was complete without dill pickles. Besides the cattle and sheep on the hillside you would see pastured chickens and pastured pigs. About 1920 Fern was able to buy back the home Edwin had sold, rejoining it to the farm.

The farm passed on to Fern’s sons, Hollis and George Morton. The farm was named the “Morton Dale Farm” at that time . The Morton Brothers focused the farm on dairy production which continued to be the main focus until 1991. The farm was very productive including the purchase and leasing of several pieces of land in the area. Hollis’s son Mark joined the team and the dairy business continued to expand. As the dairy market changed, the farming focus changed from dairy cows to other enterprises such as the Warren Farmer’s Market. The family homestead was kept together and some upkeep improvements were made. Family members especially enjoy coming home for hunting season, mainly deer. (Some of the venison gets pretty “pricey” with non-resident licenses, travel, etc. but the stories live on in the hearts of the hunters. It is a grand time. Currently the homestead is owned by a variety of A Fern Morton descendants and activities include beef production, pork production, maple syrup production and fresh vegetables. If you drive by today you may see a 7th generation descendant of Erastus Huntley out working in the garden or just enjoying the beautiful valley.