About the Property

While the rich land of the Upper Valley of New Hampshire has been inhabited for millennia, our knowledge of the farm’s history extends back 250 years to the founding of Claremont in the late 1700’s. The property was part of a land-grant to one of the original settlers, and is located on what was once referred to as “Town Hill,” near the Connecticut River. (since that time the town actually moved a mile East, to take advantage of the river power provided by the Sugar River).

The land has been used in a variety of ways over the last 240 years including as a Marino sheep farm, a dairy operation, a tavern, cropland and pasturage, a Methodist meeting house and even a Masonic lodge.

In 2011, our family acquired the property we’ve come to call Dancing Bear Farm. It was in poor condition at the time, reflecting many years of negligence and abuse of the the land. The outbuildings were condemnable, the main house had tarp-covered holes in the roof and an impromptu garbage dump covered nearly an acre of grass. We have been in the process of restoring the buildings and land to create a place for gathering, education, and sustenance. 

For the first decade, our efforts focused primarily on recovery. To that end we have improved the hayfields, rebuilt portions of the main house, replaced a second house, recovered the barn and outbuildings, added solar power generation, created an extensive produce garden, and brought on small numbers of goats, pigs and layer chickens. Dancing Bear Farm is now a working homestead for our family and friends, but we are now embarking on the second phase of our vision: to create a small demonstration farm that combines education, relaxation and relationships in a beautiful, natural environment.