Our Story
We’d like to take a moment to tell you a little about our family and the Farmstead.
Welcome to our home! We are thrilled that you have chosen Blind Buck Valley Farmstead for your getaway. We appreciate that you spent valuable time and money when choosing and planning this vacation, and we hope you enjoy your stay with us.
We’d like to take a moment to tell you a little about our family and the Farm. The original house or “Little House,” which is the area that is now the downstairs guest room/bathroom and the library above it, was built in 1795. The rest of the house or “Big House” was built in 1805 with post and beam construction and a slate foundation.
Originally from New York City, our family, Judson, Faith, Nicole and Sarah Parker, bought the Farmhouse and the 4.6 acres it sits on, which included the red barns, in March of 1985. Visiting friends who lived down the road, Faith and Judson stumbled on the house for sale, which at that point was a complete wreckage. What the realtor called a mess, they saw as a fixer-upper with loads of potential. At that time, the surrounding valley was a working dairy farm owned for several generations by the Greeno Family. We enjoyed playing with their cows, even though they would sometimes escape onto our lawn and leave large treats for us to step in.
In 1993, Faith and Judson were saddened to learn that the farm could no longer be sustained, and the valley was being turned over to the government. Potential buyers started to come and look at the property for golf courses and housing developments. We saw what the future could look like if any one of them were to buy the property and couldn’t imagine this gorgeous valley being filled with buildings. On a suggestion from a friend, with many laughing at us, we made a bid on the land and to everyone’s great surprise, it was accepted. The Parker Family was now the proud owners of 180 acres that you see around you.
In 1994, while Nicole was living in Philadelphia getting her PHD, Judson, Faith and Sarah decided to move up the farm full time. Judson, Faith and Sarah spent eight wonderful years living in this house and slowly renovating it. Visiting Battenkill Creamery for ice cream in Salem; betting on horses at Saratoga Racetrack; and skiing at Bromley and Stratton Mountains were just a few of our favorite pastimes and we hope they become yours. When it was time for Sarah to head to college, Judson and Faith moved back to New York City. Over the next two decades, our family continued to enjoy Holidays and vacations at the farm, joined by Nicole, her husband Jeff, and their three boys, Sam, Ben and Luke.
But as life got busy, our trips to the farm became fewer. Sadly, in January of 2016, after a long battle with congestive heart failure, our beloved patriarch Judson passed away peacefully at the wise age of 94. Losing him was incredibly hard, but his memory lives on through the moments shared on the farm. The Parker women launched Blind Buck Valley Farmstead in summer 2016 – a unique farm stay experience where the next generation of friends and families can come together to enjoy nature and each other. Our mission is to be the backdrop for your get-togethers, family reunions and vacations, allowing you to unplug, unwind, breathe a bit deeper, and create priceless memories on the property just as we have for so many years.
Today, the BBVF Farm Stay is led by Sarah with Nicole’s eldest, Sam, who graduated from McGill and moved to Salem in 2023 to help launch some exciting new agricultural ventures. Additional family members Hayleigh and Ian are also part of the core team and help with maintaining the property, and running farm tours, weddings and events. BBVF is currently home to two families of goats, two American Guinea Hogs (pigs), a variety of chickens, and two barn cats.
Please check out our social channels and tag us in any posts during your stay. We love to engage with our extended BBVF Family on Facebook (Facebook.com/BBVFarmstead) and Instagram (@BBVFarmstead). If you post tagging our handles and using hashtag #FarmLifeatBBVF, you’ll be entered to win a complimentary 2-night stay!
All the Best,
