King Farm

Location Woodstock, VT
Acreage 154
Protected Since 1986
Featured Recreation Land

A historic farm central to Vermont Land Trust history and the Woodstock community

King Farm is one part working farm, one part nature preserve, one part community and culture hub—and all parts beautiful. The 154-acre property, located in Woodstock, rises from the Ottauquechee River to offer sweeping views of the river valley. It holds a special place in our heart as the farmhouse was our headquarters until 1990.

It’s hard to imagine a stretch of land that speaks to Vermont’s agricultural evolution as explicitly as King Farm. Its pastures and barns have been in continuous use for more than two centuries, though today’s cattle graze behind electric fences. And while its well-kept outbuildings open a window to the past, they also house community events and art exhibitions.

King Farm’s main building and surrounding grounds are private, providing educational opportunities for local students and workspaces for conservation organizations. But visitors can follow the Poet’s Trail (keep pets leashed, please) to explore the farm’s biodiversity and iconic natural features, from pastures to sugarwoods to vernal pools.

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Visiting King Farm

Public Access
Dogs Allowed
Parking

On the two-acre farmstead, you can admire (from a distance) the original farmhouse and its 10 additional structures, built from 1793 to 1940. Or you can head up the hill for a hike through the three-mile-long public trails network. Catch your breath on one of the student-built benches and enjoy a breathtaking view of Mt. Ascutney before heading into the forest.

The King Farm abuts the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park and is approximately two miles from the Billings Farm and Museum entrance. The King Farm is linked to the National Historic Park by skiing and hiking trails.

The land is open during daylight hours.

Contact Ben Waterman with any questions.

Please keep a respectful distance from the farm buildings and barns—our farm tenants and their animals live on site.
Please stay on mowed paths or marked trails.
Dogs are welcome but must be well-behaved. They need to be on leash at all times when near the farmstead area.
The King Farm boundaries are not posted; hunting is allowed in the various seasons. Tree stands need prior approval from VLT. Visitors are encouraged to wear safety orange during hunting seasons.

Located at the end of a town-maintained road, the property is quiet and serene, yet it is only one and a half miles west of the Woodstock Green and a quarter mile north of US Route 4.

From downtown Woodstock, head west on Route 4. At the intersection of Prosper Road, Route 4, and Rose Hill Road, take a hard right on Rose Hill Road. King Farm Road will be shortly on your left.

Public parking is available to the west of the barns, and north of the main farmhouse building.

The King Farm Trails are part of an extensive network of trails through Woodstock.

Area trail map

The King Farm boundaries are not posted; hunting is allowed in the various seasons. Tree stands need prior approval from VLT.

King Farm: Where the Past Meets the Future

Shortly before the American Revolution, the un-ceded native land that would become King Farm was sold to land speculators. By 1793, a farmstead was established. It has been in use ever since, offering an unprecedented glimpse into Vermont’s agricultural history.

King Farm exemplifies the self-sustaining Vermont hill farm. The Kings renovated the property over the years as agricultural practices and technology evolved. Despite these changes, the farm’s character, layout, and nearly all of its early buildings are intact—from the rambling old farmhouse to the sheep barn and ice house.

Four Generations of Farm Stewardship

The legacy of the Kings began in 1807, when Jabez King bought the farm for its fertility, proximity to transport, and orientation to the sun. He and his wife Abigail worked the land for nearly 30 years; their descendants would continue their work generations to come. Over the years, the King family and various tenants raised livestock such as cattle, pigs, goats, chicken, and sheep and sold products like maple sugar, butter, wool, and—with the addition of the ice house—milk.

Jabez and Abigails’s last descendant was their great-granddaughter Francisca King Thomas (1898-1985). Francisca shared memories with us of her childhood on the farm: skimming cream and loading it onto wagons for delivery to the local Hood Creamery, splitting ice from 400-pound blocks into manageable chunks that she could carry into the house. In 1960, she moved back to King Farm and lived the rest of her life there.

Francisca's Legacy: A generous gift to the Vermont Land Trust and the public

Francisca left the King Farm to the Ottauquechee Regional Land Trust in her will. She wanted to ensure that the farm was used for agriculture and forestry and offered educational opportunities for the surrounding community.

Two years later, the Ottauquechee Regional Land Trust renamed itself, and Vermont Land Trust was born.

King Farm was our first headquarters from 1987 until 1990 and continues to house a regional office today.

The Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission now occupies most of the rest of the building.

The living quarters attached to the north end of the farmhouse have been converted to a caretaker’s apartment, where the property’s current farmers reside.

King Farm Today

Education on the Land

The Vermont Youth Conservation Corps uses the land as part of a program with the National Park Service. And, Woodstock High School offers students outdoor education here, providing practical experience in on-the-ground conservation projects. School groups visit the farm throughout the year, often completing trail work, benches, and maple sugaring. We also use the land to test out land management practices and share what we learn through our educational events.

Trails to explore

The farm is home has miles of trails that wind through open meadows and woods. Along the way you’ll see stone walls, sculptures, ancient trees, and stunning vistas of Mt. Ascutney and pastoral countryside. The farm abuts the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. The farm and National Historic Park are linked by trails.

Community Gardens

Sustainable Woodstock hosts a community garden on King Farm. They offer between 10 and 20 plots for use by local families and organizations. Some gardeners grow food for the local food shelf or donate surplus food.

Sculpturefest: Art on the Land

Sculpturefest’s organizers, Charlet and Peter Davenport, have invited world-renowned artists to exhibit work on their property for over three decades. More recently, the Davenports created the LandARTLab: a partnership to expand the festival to neighboring King Farm. Each summer and fall, visitors experience the arresting interplay between art and nature.

A Virtual Tour

The Farmstead

Maples form a beautiful canopy over the King Farm Road as it leads up to the farmstead. The original portion of the King farmhouse faces a tree-lined lane that was once a through road to the Prosper Road.

The main block of the farmhouse was built in 1793 and remodeled in 1862. The rectangular ell was constructed in 1906 to replace an earlier ell.

Other historic buildings

Main Barn (c. 1793 with c. 1908 additions)
Sheep Barn (c. 1840, with a 1930s addition)
Horse Barn (c. 1940)
Corn House/Granary (c. 1800)
Milk House (c. 1930, once the original carriage house, c. 1795; moved around 1908)
Ash House (c. 1795)
Ice House (c. 1908)
The Workshop (c. 1940 – a sugarhouse in the woods)

If you visit, please note that the buildings and farmstead aren’t open to the public as they are in use.

The current farm operation

King Farm’s caretakers live in the main farmhouse, in a renovated apartment. They raise beef cattle through a collaboration with the University of Vermont Extension. They also keep meat birds, laying hens, and a handful of goats.

The site is surrounded by pastures and hayfields and is shaded by several very large and mature maples.

Art on the land

Head northeast up the hill from the barns and you’ll find Poet’s Trail. This was created with with Vermont Youth Conservation Corps and the National Park Service.

This scenic hike will guide you through old fields and pastures, as well as the occasional sculpture, courtesy of the artists of Sculpturefest.

A poet’s view from old pastures

Continue up the hill and find a sun-drenched overlook with views of Mt. Ascutney. From here, you can head into the woods, which are dominated by hemlock and hardwoods.

Into the woods

Veer left, and the hardwoods eventually give way to a stand of red pines that was planted in 1930s.

Small streams cut their way through the woods and fields, requiring VLT to determine the best places for trail-crossings and the correct sizes for culverts.

A seepage forest (a type of wooded wetland) is an obstacle for recreational trails and timber harvesting, but a wonder of wildlife habitat, providing water year-round to turkeys, coyotes, fisher, deer, and others.

Vernal pools dot the landscape and host an ear-splitting wood frog and peeper chorus every spring. They also teach us about the out-sized habitat value they provide to their tiny inhabitants.

Eventually, the trail loops back around and comes out behind the farmstead from the west. Below, the road that takes you back to Woodstock until your next visit.

(After you walk, please check for skin and clothes for ticks. They can carry Lyme Disease and other illnesses.)