King Farm was started by Dana King’s grandparents, George “Pete”
King and his wife Caroline in 1922 as a dairy farm. They sold milk
to neighbors and friends as well as in the towns of Townsend, Lunenburg
and Fitchburg MA. Their children, Wally, Albert, Paul and Priscilla
all grew up in the old farmhouse at King Farm. Wally “Bumps”
King (Dana’s father) was born in that old farmhouse in 1923.
King Farm was sold out of the family in the 1970’s, but in
1975 Dana and Barbara King, with all they had, were able to buy back
about a 10 acre portion, to start a greenhouse operation. Now much
of the original farm land has been bought back in parcels of 35 to
40 acres at a time. King Farm Inc. is now one of the larger wholesale
growers in the area. With the addition of the new greenhouse, we now
have 4 acres of plastic or glass covered ranges and many acres of
outside growing area. We have periodically increased our plant production
over the years and have not only kept up with the latest technology
used in the industry, but have often been the leader. We have one
of the top growers in the area, David Weidman and a staff to be proud
of.
King Farm sells to farm stand retailers, garden centers, and other
plant producers through out most of the New England area, although
much of our product stays in about a 50 mile radius of Townsend. WE
DO NOT SELL TO MASS-MERCHANTS!
As you will see from our catalogue we grow a wide variety of plant
material. Our excellent staff of 35 to 40 people at peak season enables
us to provide this for our customers. We feel we are large enough
to supply your needs and small enough to really care about them. We
have always felt that it’s really simple… if you do well
- we do well!!
Our sons, Brett and Bart got their early work training at King Farm.
Dana’s parents, Wally (Bumps) and Gini (Luby) have been very
involved and a tremendous help to our business since 1980. At one
time or another, aunts, uncles, cousins, (Priscilla King Smith, Paul
King, George and Bill King, Lenny Smith, Jr.), have all worked here
at the farm. Our son Brett and cousin Kevin Smith have done excavation
and landscape projects at our farm as it grew. Now the next generation,
our grandchildren, Breanna and Dana have started their work training
here and we can’t wait for our other grandchildren Alyssa and
Jared to be old enough to get started!! As you can see, in the American
farm tradition family is very important to us. We also consider all
of our staff family; some have been with us for over 30 years. It
does not seem possible!
We are in the process of turning some of the business over to our
son, Bart. Bart with Dana’s guidance, has been helping to run
King Farm and is doing an outstanding job. It is a joy to watch him
operate. Both Dana and Bart are graduates of U-Mass Amherst.
Building and running King Farm has been hard work, as all successful
businesses are, but it has been wonderful and an extremely rewarding
experience. The farm has provided our family with more than we could
have ever imagined. We are both very proud of and thankful for King
Farm!
