Smiling Hill Farm

Smiling Hill Farm is a 500 acre[1] traditional New England farm encompassing parts of the municipalities of Westbrook, Scarborough, and Gorham, Maine. Founded in 1720 as the homestead of Nathaniel Knight, the 12th generation descendants continue to operate the farm today. Known as the "Knight Farm", the farm was renamed "Smiling Hill Farm" by Roger D. Knight in 1974. Roger named the farm after a favorite childhood book "Smiling Hill Farm" by Miriam E. Mason (1937).[2] Smiling Hill Farm is known for its characteristic smiling cow logo. Smiling Hill Farm is the 9th oldest continually operating family business in the United States according to Family Business magazine.[3]

Smiling Hill Farm
TypePrivate
IndustryAgriculture, Food Processing
Founded1720
HeadquartersWestbrook, Maine, USA
Key people
Warren R. Knight - President
ProductsMilk, Ice Cream, Cheese
Number of employees
17
Websitewww.smilinghill.com

History

Smiling Hill Farm was founded in the 1720s[4] as the home of the Knight family. The Knights had been in Scarborough since the mid-1600s starting with George Knight d.1671. Following George's early death his widow left the family's land holdings in the Dunstan region of Scarborough for the relative safety of Portsmouth, NH, with her two young children Mary and Nathan. Nathan Knight married Mary Westbrook and returned to Scarborough in the late 1600s with his brother-in-law, Col. Thomas Westbrook. Col. Thomas Westbrook's gravesite is located on the Scarborough portion of the property.[5] Col. Westbrook was the uncle of Nathaniel Knight who was the first Knight to occupy the area now known as Smiling Hill Farm.

George Knight 1641-1671 Nathan Knight 1668-1746 Nathaniel Knight 1698-1786 George Knight 1737-1801 George Knight II 1778-1837 Lewis Knight 1827-1909 Benjamin Knight 1855-1939 Perce C. Knight 1887-1972 Roger D. Knight 1935-2015

Today

The farm continues to raise dairy cattle, produce milk, and process milk, ice cream, cheeses and yogurt at the farm's micro-dairy. The farm bottles milk in reusable glass milk bottles. Smiling Hill Farm houses Silvery Moon Creamery, an artisanal cheese manufacturer. Smiling Hill Farm at one time packaged milk for Maine's Own Organic Milk Company. Smiling Hill Farm also bottles milk in glass bottles for other small local farms in Maine and New Hampshire.[6] A farm animal exhibit, known as the "Barnyard", has been a popular feature of this farm.[7] Hillside Lumber, Inc., the Knight family sawmill and building materials supply company is co-located at the farm.

References
  1. "Smiling Hill Farm", VisitMaine.com(website) accessed 26 July 2011
  2. Our Land, Our Literature Miriam E. Mason Archived September 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "America's oldest family run businesses according to Family Business magazine". News.everest.edu. 2009-08-12. Archived from the original on 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2013-01-22.
  4. Tess Nacelewicz, "Changing coming to dairy operation at Smiling Hill Farm" Archived 2010-08-03 at the Wayback Machine, American Journal, keepmecurrent.com, 23 July 2010, accessed 26 July 2011
  5. Isabel T. Coburn, "The Westbrook Secret: A Skeleton In The Woods Solves A 232-Year Old Mystery", Portland Evening Express, Tues, July 27, 1976, (with photo of Westbrook's partially exhumed skeleton) copy at Westbrook Historical Society
  6. Clarke Canfield,"MOOMilk Organic Milk: Maine Dairy Farmers Might Have Business Model To Emulate" Archived copy, Huffington Post, 17 February 2010, accessed 26 July 2011
  7. Beth Alteri and Kristin DiCara, "Smiling Hill Farm brings back its petting zoo", WCSH6.com, 22 May 2010, accessed 26 July 2011

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