Welcome to Marble Farm of Ashburnham Massachusetts
Cell: 802-355-6466 Farmhouse: 978-827-5423
Humble Beginnings
Lexington Land Grant
In 1735 the town of Lexington offered 1000 acres to seven of the first German settlers in Ashburnham. Among them was Christian William Whiteman, the builder of our farm. The farms that were established in the area were known as the Dutch Farms. The green box on the map indicates the location of an early German settlement not a mile from the farm Whiteman would later establish. The location of the Lexington Grant Cemetary was located on Whiteman's farmland now marked with a monument to the areas German settlers.
Establishing The Farm
Whiteman settled the Whiteman Farm and built the basic farmhouse "block" around 1747. His portion of the grant land encompassed a large area to the northeast corner of Ashburnham containing streams and abundant woodlands. The farm was later established in 1758 as stated on the Lexington cemetary monument.
The Farmhouse
The original farmhouse provided three large rooms and a birthing room downstairs, a ladder accessible loft on the second floor, and eventually a dug well which is now hidden under the kitchen floor. The farmhouse would have been small but cozy. The black lines on the picture indicate the original footprint which would not have included a central chimney. The back of the farmhouse was planted out with fruit trees, gardens for food, and most likely the outhouse. It too was later enclosed inside one of the sheds.
The Nickolas Whiteman Mill
Behind the farmhouse in the lower meadow is the "old" Whiteman mill, shown here around 1907. It was built sometime before 1780 by Nicholas Whiteman, Christion Whiteman's son. It was later rebuilt round 1820 by Jacob Whiteman, Whiteman's grandson, after the earlier mill burned. The first mill would likely have been water wheel driven and this second version was eventually converted to water turbine power.
Changing Residents
After taking ownership of the farm sometime after 1835, George W. Cushing of Ashburnham sold the Farm in 1839 to Pitt Moore of Sterling, MA. Pitt's daughter Abigale married Luke Marble and in 1858 Pitt sold interest in the Farm to Luke who began the process of building a new mill on the stream bed of the south branch of the Souhegan River. The mill would be fitted out and powered by a brand new Tyler Scroll Wheel water turbine fed by a seventeen acre flooded meadow dubbed Marble Pond.
Roughcut Lumber and More
The old Whiteman mill was refit with it's own smaller Tyler turbine to run finishing equipment like the Champion #1 wide board planer (up to 30 inches), lathes, smaller saws, and lots of hand tools. It was put to work making chair and pail parts. The rough mill, shown here on the pond to the north, generated plenty of board feet and the finish mill's parts production generated a good living for Luke. Local farmers also would bring felled lumber by cart to have it sawn into planking. Luke's son Warren would later enherit the farm and mills and continued the operation into his later years.