Maj. Gen. George S. Patton retired from the U.S. Army to Green Meadows Farm in 1980. He set about converting the land to a “pick your own” blueberry farm. It evolved to a commercial farm stand and then to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Collective offering locally-grown, organic-certified produce, cementing the Patton family’s commitment to sustainable agriculture.
After Maj. Gen. Patton died of Parkinson’s Disease in 2004, his wife, Joanne Holbrook Patton, promoted his memory by making Green Meadows Farm a destination where visitors could walk the grounds and enjoy the fresh produce. People were moved by the spirit of the place, as the late general had named its fields for soldiers who lost their lives under his command in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Mrs. Patton wove her life-long commitment to philanthropy and community service into Green Meadows, working with her children to share the property’s beauty and historical significance through outreach programs, educational excursions and charity events.
In 2012, the Patton family gifted the Patton Homestead to the Town of Hamilton. Five years later, they closed the farm and leased the fields to other local farmers. They donated the Homestead’s extensive trove of Patton memorabilia, research documents, and family artifacts to the Wenham Museum.
Today, the Patton family has combined George and Joanne’s legacy of organic agriculture and public spirit to establish Green Meadows as a premier provider of safe, pure and environmentally responsible cannabis. Through the current Green Meadows, headquartered in Southbridge, Massachusetts, the Pattons continue their legacy of community giving and veteran support. This legacy spurred the family’s interest in cannabis and especially its potential as an aid for PTSD symptoms experienced by veterans and for the relief that many children and adults gain from cannabis medicine for many chronic ailments and long-term pain.
To continue your tour, head to the stone wall located behind the pond.
Learn more about the current farming operations on this historic fields of Green Meadows Farm >>
Learn more about Green Meadows, the Patton Family's current cannabis enterprise >>
Text adapted from the Green Meadows website.
Photo: Sunflower fields outside the former Green Meadows Farm farmstand in Hamilton, Massachusetts. Image courtesy of Green Meadows.