On August 23, 1785 THOMAS JEFFERSON, our Founding Father and an avid farmer, stated to John Jay,

"Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independant, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bands. As long, therefore, as they can find employment in this line, I would not convert them into mariners, artisans, or anything else."

The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land. 
 - Abraham Lincoln.

Let us not forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man.  Where tillage begins, other arts will follow.  The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization. - Daniel Webster

I think our governments will remain virtuous for many centuries, as long as they are chiefly agricultural. - Thomas Jefferson

We do not inherit the land from our forefathers, we borrow it from our grandchildren. - Chief Seattle

As each of you has received a gift (a gracious divine endowment), employ it for one another as (befits) good trustee's of God's many sided grace. - 1 Peter 4:10

Farm Facts
$483,581.09 -  Payment received by Lower Makefield Township for Patterson acreage  from PennDot for construction of Interstate-95 exit loop. If managed wisely, employing a prudent preventive maintenance plan,  those funds could have preserved Patterson Farm for a very long time.
234 - Number of acres of Patterson farmland when Lower Makefield township took possession from farmers, Thomas & Alice Patterson.
213 - Acres remaining of Patterson Farm today.
6 - Percent of farms within a 100 mile radius of Philadelphia that grow vegetables.
2 - Acres of American farm & ranchland are lost to development every minute.
1 - Percent of the American population who are the farmers who feed us.

With your help we will achieve success using a conservation easement, grants, donations from the community and income from the farm.

NOW is the time to permanently preserve Patterson Farm, not sell off an additional parcel or crowd the farm with uses that impede the farms' use for agriculture.
"Few people have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder." - George Washington

   

1917 – Marcus Doan purchased Satterthwaite Farm, in Lower Makefield Township, Bucks County, PA adjacent to the Yardley Farm. He grew oats, corn, barley, wheat, hay, potatoes, apples, tomatoes, carrots, & rutabagas, and raised chickens. He farmed with 2 teams of horses, and later a Farmall 1020 tractor.

Late 1930s – Duane Doan Sr. and his wife Ida Doan moved with their children, including their son Duane Jr., to the Yardley Farm.  They farmed there until 1941 when they moved to Marcus Doan’s adjacent farm in the house now known as Satterthwaite house. They enjoyed success in the first year farming there and bought a Farmall F12 with cultivator. The family later grew to seven children who all helped out on the farm.

Late 1940s – To escape encroaching development Thomas & Alice Patterson sold their farm in Fall Township, PA and purchased the Yardley farm. They began nearly 5 decades of farming in Lower Makefield Township.  They grew asparagus, cabbage, potatoes, horseradish, and cantaloupes to sell. Mr. Patterson planted an extensive garden of fruit trees & bushes and vegetables for their household consumption. He kept precise records of crop rotation and farming methods. He earned a reputation for producing excellent crops that needed no advertisement and were purchased by buyers throughout the Northeast states. Mrs. Patterson was an adept bookkeeper and business woman who managed the household and farm record keeping. Duane Doan Jr. (aka Buster), now a young man, was hired by the Pattersons to drive truck & farm, in addition to his work on the Doan farm.  It was the beginning of a working relationship that would last nearly 50 years,

1960 – The Pattersons purchased the Doan farm and re-joined the two farms, which were part of the original Janney land grant from William Penn.

Late 1960’s – Construction of Interstate 95 split the Patterson farm in two, leaving several acres inaccessible for farming. Heavy construction dust from the building of I-95 settled into the growing cabbage plants on the remaining acreage, making the crop unfit for sale. After that, Mr. Patterson switched to growing corn, soybeans, wheat, rye, barley, squash and pumpkins. 

1973 – Mr. Patterson, age 70,  agreed to truck a few loads of leaves from the Lower Makefield Township municipal building to the farm. The leaves had been piling up for a few years and the township needed a place to dispose of them. In the ensuing years, as rampant development took over the township, former farm fields were built upon and landscaped with trees that grew and produced an increasing volume of leaves annually. For leaf disposal services, Patterson was paid a small annual fee. This agreement continued for the remaining years of his life. As leaf volume increased, Patterson Farm saved the township millions of dollars in landfill, shipping, maintenance, and labor fees up to the present day.

Mid 1980s into the 1990s – Township representatives began to repeatedly approach the Patterson’s about selling the farm to the township. The Pattersons declined, as they always did when developers offered to buy the farm.  The farm was NOT for sale. When the township phoned Mr. Patterson to request a sale, he ignored their calls. When township representatives drove to the farm, Mr. Patterson refused to stop his tractor to speak with them. The township persisted, phoning Buster’s house to implore him to have Mr. Patterson call them. The farm was NOT for sale, but township officials would not take “no” for an answer. Previous township staff who had a better understanding of agriculture had gradually been replaced over the years by those with more aggressive urban attitudes.  The situation had become uncomfortable for the Pattersons. Mr. Patterson was reluctant to ask for an increased fee to take the township’s leaves because he feared the township would take his farm.

1995 – The township used Eminent Domain to acquire another local family farm in order to build a township-owned golf course. It’s a condemnation that was viewed with disdain by many in the general public who felt the township’s abuse of power was not justified. Many residents thought a golf course was a frivolous expenditure of the taxpayers funds. Farmers viewed the use of Eminent Domain as discriminatory against their rights as landowners, and wondered whose farm would be next. The controversial condemnation resulted in a lengthy lawsuit. Key points in the case are land valuation and the landowners assertion that the township "rushed" to condemnation before the landowners could carry out their own plans for their property. The case was recently heard by the PA Supreme Court.  Will the township owe the landowners an additional payment for their property? A verdict is expected in 2012.

June 1997 – At 94 years of age Mr. Patterson enrolled his farm in the Agricultural Security District, a safeguard that was meant to protect farmers from nuisance laws, and to provide an extra layer of protection in the event of a proposed condemnation by requiring the approval of the state Agricultural Lands Condemnation Approval Board. It was a required step toward a Conservation Easement and it turned out to be Mr. Patterson’s last ditch effort to ensure his farm stayed in agriculture.

March 1998 – After years of mounting pressure from the township to sell, the Pattersons signed a “Settlement Agreement” which reads, “Whereas, the Township is desirous of securing by condemnation…”  It does not say the Sellers desired to sell. 

June 1998 – The township condemned the Patterson’s beloved farm with a Declaration of Taking “in accordance with the provisions of the Eminent Domain Code…”

Mr. Patterson turned 95 on June 11^th of 1998. He said he was “too old to fight.”  The township’s relentless pursuit had worn him down. After the Settlement the township wanted to commemorate their so-called “saving” of the farm with a group photograph featuring the township staff and the farmers. The Pattersons wanted no part of the publicity-stunt photo op. The township had obtained a place to continue dumping their leaves, but for the elderly Pattersons it was not a day of celebration.  They were paid much less than their land was worth, and several times less than they had already turned down. Money was not their primary motivation, a fact the township officials did not understand.  Although the Pattersons did retain a lifetime right, it was an emotionally upsetting event in what should have been their time to quietly enjoy the few remaining years of life together, reminiscing about the life they had lived and the good work they had accomplished together on the farm.

When Mrs. Patterson, age 89 at the time of the "settlement", was asked if she was pleased with the deal she and her husband received from the township, she replied, “No, but we have to do what they say.”  She once remarked to a local newspaper columnist that she thought the township officials were “Communists.”  In her later years she kept abreast of local newspaper reports covering the township’s handling of issues pertaining to the farm. A family friend remembers her stating, “They’ll ruin the farm.”

August 16, 2000 – Thomas Patterson passed away at the age of 97.

August 25, 2005 – Alice Patterson passed away at the age of 96.

2011 – The controversial township-owned golf course finished the year financially in the red. With no revenue, where will the township raise funds to cover their losses? Will they sell the golf course?

April 2012 – Less than a dozen years after Thomas Pattersons death, the township has subdivided the Act 319-enrolled Patterson Farm, the precious farm with soils of “Statewide Importance” that is located within the Agricultural Security District, and was supposed to be protected from condemnation by Agricultural Lands Condemnation Approval Board review. The Board never heard the Patterson Farm case. The township somehow bypassed the requirement and now plans to sell off a 5.1 acre parcel that includes the Satterthwaite house, barn and agricultural outbuildings, despite public outcry that the structures will be needed by future resident-farmers.

Plans are in place to build a commercial complex on the Patterson’s irreplaceable farm soils, with more projects to come. The township is now making the absurd claim that the Pattersons requested condemnation to save money on their taxes.

The townships's outrageous claim is an insult to the memory of the Pattersons who only wanted to be left alone in their sunset years to exercise their rights as landowners to convey the property they owned and worked so hard for, as they wished. When pressed to give up ownership of their beautful farm, the Pattersons hoped to pass on their legacy for future generations of farmers. The Patterson's wishes have been trampled on by the Lower Makefield Township officials who see only dollar signs when they look at the magnificent farm.

Unless the township's plans are stopped, Mrs. Patterson will be proven right,  the township will “ruin the farm.”

Please act NOW to help permanently preserve Patterson Farm. Your emails, calls and letters are needed immediately. Time is short, plans are in place to sell a farm parcel and build on fertile farmland. They must be stopped. 

Please call Lower Makefield Township at 267-274-1100 and tell the Township Manager you SUPPORT a Conservation Easement to permanently preserve Patterson Farm, and OPPOSE subdivison of, and construction on, Patterson farmland. There is NO protective covenant on the majority of the farm, without a Conservation Easement there will be NO permanent preservation for the irreplaceable Patterson Farm. Please call or send an email today.  Thank you.