In a $2.2 million transaction, the Sabot family has bought Cricket Creek Farm in South Williamstown, nearly 500 acres of mostly protected land where they plan to ultimately create an incubator for agricultural entrepreneurs.
Richard Sabot, emeritus professor of economics at Williams College, is a founder of eZiba, the e-tailer of world handcrafts, and of Tripod, generally credited with tripping off the development of Internet businesses in North County.
And just as Tripod launched business entrepreneurs, Sabot said his family hopes this venture will help launch “a new generation of agricultural entrepreneurs.â€
For the Sabots themselves, and many in Williamstown, the purchase inoculates the fields and pastures that overlook the Hopper of Mount Greylock to the east and the Taconic Range to the west from purchase by developers.
The purchase was called “incredibly important†in assuring an “agricultural continuum,†by Leslie Reed-Evans, executive director of the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation, which was instrumental in structuring the transaction.
Yesterday Richard and Judith Sabot, from their early-19th century farmhouse adjoining the property they have purchased, talked about their plans for the property, which legally changed hands Friday.
The Sabots, who are the principals of the Cricket Creek Farm Nominee Trust, bought the property from longtime owners Norris A. and Betty-Jim Phelps, who sold off its dairy herd last July after the death of their herdsman Eugene Johnson the previous month.
The Sabots said that initially, for about the first two years, Jim Galusha of Fairfield Farm on Blair Road will grow corn and hay on the fields for his dairy herd, and keep the pastures open. Galusha bought some of Phelps herd at last summer’s auction.
That two-year interim will give them time to devise more long-range plans for the property, plans for a model farm that they say they expect to base, to some extent, on Shelburne Farms in Vermont, they said.
Attorney Sherwood Guernsey II is trustee of the Cricket Creek Nominee Trust, which bought part of the property from the Phelpses for $1.464 million. Richard H. and Judith A. Sabot also bought additional parcels for $736,000 at the closing Friday.
According to a release handed out yesterday, “Cricket Creek Farm, if it is able to be farmed in its entirety, has an enormous potential to use and showcase the best, most environmentally sound, sustainable farming techniques available.â€
These uses can include organic market gardening (vegetables), cut flowers, specialty cheese production, fruit orchards, and grass-based, rotational dairy farming for cheese production.
“It’s a bit of a dream,†said Judith Sabot.
Said Richard Sabot, “We want to create an umbrella by providing land and facilities. We have no interest in making money from the property.â€
And, he stressed, “This is not just Jude and me, it’s the whole family.â€
The trust is the family, including four children, Diana, Topher, Oliver and Julia. The Sabots moved to their Oblong Road house 16 years ago. From their windows, the view encompasses snow-covered fields and woods, and beyond them, the Hopper and Mount Greylock.
“We used to walk along Oblong Road and have a little, niggling fear of what it might turn into if houses were built along it,†said Judith Sabot.
The more than 200 acres they purchased that are under state Agricultural Preservation Restriction join more than 1,000 acres in the area that are preserved. One of the Sabots’ purchases adjoins Field Farm, owned by The Trustees of Reservations.
The Phelpses will continue to live on their land on Woodcock Road, which they did not sell.
Sabot said they will strive to continue the good stewardship of the land practiced by the Phelpses.
“They set quite a high bar,†he said.
The 91 acres fronting on Sloan Road are among the 130 acres not protected by agricultural preservation restrictions.
“In dollar terms, those are the most valuable acres,†Sabot said yesterday, declining to speculate on whether plans might eventually include some sales similar to the WRLF-managed development at the nearby Reynolds property, housing created on the margins of arable land, maintaining meadows and pastures.
“If we had our druthers, we’d rather have not even that,†said Sabot.
“We don’t have a definitive answer†about the unprotected land but, he said, “We didn’t want a developer to come in and buy those pieces.â€
Said Judith Sabot, “The children feel this way, too. Ideally, what we’d like on the unprotected acreage is nothing.â€
The Phelpses at one time kept as many as 400 cows at the farm. The property includes two houses, three silos, two ponds, a gambrel-roofed old stone barn, the large dairy barn and other farm buildings.
The Sabots said they expect that John Sylvester will remain and help with the operation.
Said Reed-Evans, “We’re very lucky that Norris Phelps wanted to sell the parcels together and not cut and slice.â€
Sabot said they have had great support from the neighbors — “everybody in South Williamstown.â€
Sabot said he plans to remain actively engaged in his other enterprises.
Guernsey noted that the area has seen a regeneration of business, and that the Sabot purchase may signal a regeneration of agriculture, which he termed “an exciting concept.â€
The Sabots and Reed-Evans said Alex Webb of the family that created Shelburne Farms has been tremendously helpful. Shelburne Farms has a strong educational component, and ties with Middlebury College and the University of Vermont.
There are historical connections between the properties, as all were at one time owned by members of the Vanderbilt family.
Sabot said he has been in touch with Samuel and Elizabeth Smith of Caretaker Farm about vegetable farming.
Potential agricultural entrepreneurs may call the Sabots, they said.
“I think it’s going to take a while to put these pieces together,†he said.
And while the Sabots may have paid $2.2 million for the land, it, they said, “priceless.â€
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Berkshire County Homes Celebrating Holiday Cheer
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.
In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.
Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear.
The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.
"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."
Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.
In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.
The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.
"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.
The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.
In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.
"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
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