Preserving Delicious History
Our preservation mission takes many forms, perhaps none as yummy as the work of Scott Farm. Far from your standard farm, it has been in various types of agricultural production dating back to 1791! Scott Farm not only adds to the beauty of our Dummerston, Vermont properties, it also does important work in preserving something worth saving: heirloom apples. Just like buildings and landscapes, historic and unique varieties of apples have stories to tell. Rising from the Vermont landscape, every tree and their fruit has a personality. According to Scott Farm orchardist Erin Robinson, some reign like crowns and others dance like a ballerina’s tutu. What unites them is the international and local cultural history that stretches back through the centuries.
Our staff at Scott Farm are stewards of these legacies, honoring their history and ensuring they don’t disappear. Human hands pick these 130+ varieties of heirloom apples, hand pack them, and send them into the world to be enjoyed, and you can taste the care in every bite. Perhaps no one is a more passionate caretaker of this legacy than orchardist Erin Robinson, a Vermont native who started painting walls and changing beds for Landmark over a decade ago before finding her calling managing the delicate dance of this one-of-a-kind orchard.
So many of our apples have a rich history, but Erin shared details on a few of her favorite historic varieties:
Newtown Pippin - Queen Victoria’s favorite. Developed in Queens, New York in the 1720s, these delights were shipped to Her Majesty and “praised by royal lips.” Ben Franklin was a fan too!
Blue Pearmain - This Boston-area variety was a favorite of Henry David Thoreau, who said they were “accidentally sprinkled from the brush of Him who paints the autumn leaves.”
Black Oxford - From its beginnings in 1790s Maine, this dense variety is like staring into the night sky and biting into buttery applesauce. It was almost lost in the 1970s but saved by preservationist John Bunker and lives on at Scott Farm.
Book your autumn stay at a Landmark property today to enjoy the fruits of Erin - and our entire amazing staff’s - labor!