Mark your calendars for the 1st annual RHODE ISLAND FUNGI FAIR May 19th brought to you by the Rhode Island Mycological Society and hosted by Borders Farm! There will be fun for the entire family. Bring a picnic lunch and stay as long as you’d like.
Follow us and RI Mycological Society on social media for updates and more event information.
THANK YOU!!!
We exceeded our expectations and a record 33 donors brought our total to $1,760! Amazing!
These funds will be used to create events and programs at the farm and to maintain and improve our farm trail system.
Monday April 1st is the annual online state wide fundraising event #401Gives. This is our 3rd year participating and we’re using this opportunity to raise awareness about our beautiful farm and to encourage folks to support Borders Farm with monetary donations. Your support allows us to offer more events, improve our facilities, and continue to be a valuable resource to our local community and visitors from throughout Rhode Island and surrounding states.
Giving is easy! Just click here for our giving page. We can accept donations through that link starting 6am Monday. Every little bit helps and will help us win matching funds and additional funding. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
Second Sundays on the Farm Starting May 2024
It is almost spring and we’re making plans for our monthly events at the farm. Most will be on the second Sunday and will start at noon on the farm. All are invited! Check back for details as they become available and follow us on social media for up to the minute information. Facebook and Instagram @bordersfarm1923
May 19 - A mushroom event in partnership with The RI Mycological Society (Third Sunday to avoid Mothers Day conflicts)
June 9th - TBD
July 14th - TBD
August 11th - TBD
September 8th - TBD
October - Architectural History and Musical History at the farm
Borders Farm is finishing its series of ‘Third Sundays’ on Sunday, October 15. These include our normal activities and several special events.
Schedule:
11am Yard and table games out on the lawn for the the whole family to enjoy
11:00 – 1:00 Tours of the historic 1840 George Phillips Farmhouse at 31 North Road will be offered, on a limited basis
Noon Learn about the benefits of organic no-till gardening and tour our food bank garden
1pm Mark Luzio, woodworker, author, and owner of Post Pattern Woodworking, will be giving a talk about Elihu Fish.
2pm Providence Brigade Band will be performing
More details below…
The first will be a talk on Elihu Fish, the ‘architect’ of houses like the Phillips Farmhouse and many other beautiful houses in Foster. The second will be the return of the Providence Brigade Band – formed around the time the Phillips Farmhouse was built – and long a favorite of Charles and Margery Borders.
This month we honor and celebrate the Food Bank Garden and its volunteers, who have worked so hard all summer and have contributed so many, many pounds of produce to the Foster town food pantry and St. Paul’s Food Pantry.
Non-digital, interactive family fun will be available starting at 11:00. There will be croquet, corn hole, badminton, checkers, cards, dominoes, and other fun activities for families.
Go for a hike on our trials! Please feel free to bring some sturdy clippers in your pocket to cut back small branches
that get into the trail.
Take a walk on North Road! The Red Devon cattle now have seven calves, and you can see if you can spot them all. The leaves will be worth seeing on their own but there are sure to be plenty of birds
migrating through our western part of the state at that time.
At 1:00 Mark Luzio, woodworker, author, and owner of Post Pattern Woodworking will be giving a talk about Elihu Fish.
Elihu Fish was born in Portsmouth, now Newport, the ninth child of Benjamin and Priscilla Fish, probably in 1756. Elihu served on the sloop “Greenwich” during the revolutionary war. He is better
know for his woodworking. He built and resided in the Elihu Fish tavern, which Mark lived in and restored in the 1990s. Mark will give a history of Elihu’s apprenticeship and how he ended up in
western Rhode Island. Among the houses he constructed are the Tavern on Old Plainfield Pike and the gorgeous house on the corner of Rt. 102 and Route 114. He lived and is buried in Scituate in the
Elihu Fish Lot, and he died the year the Phillips House was finished – 1840.
The Providence Brigade Band will be performing at 3:00! The Band has performed at the farm for many, many years, and was a favorite of Charles and Margery Borders. Almost ten years ago we
wrote a history of the band for the FHJ. Here are some excerpts from that article.
The Providence Brigade Band was formed in 1846. Then, as now, the members were not professional musicians but did it for the love of music. One member was a music professor, but there
was also a blacksmith and a jeweler among the members. They gave concerts and played ‘to foster civic pride.’
The formation of these bands was the result of improvements to horn valves by Adolph Sax around this time. The ‘Saxhorn’ has survived almost unchanged, as have valved bugles. These instruments
were so popular that thousands of brass bands were formed in this country, although not all have survived as successfully as the Providence Brigade Band. At their concerts the PBB band members
show off their instruments, which are now more than 100 years old and still making music.
During the Civil War brass bands were important for rallying the spirits of troops and citizens on both sides of the conflict. The PBB members play a variety of music from the band books of the period.
The stories of the origin of this music are often as interesting as the music itself, and the band
members do a great job of making the stories a part of the concert.
Please set up your chairs and blankets to hear the band member’s stories and this wonderful music.
From 11:00 – 1:00 tours will be offered, on a limited basis, of the historic 1840 George Phillips Farmhouse at 31 North Road.
A table will be set up with trail maps and Borders Farm and Swamp Meadow Covered Bridge t-shirts. There will be cider and sweets available, as well as samples of ‘switchel’, the beverage that
was provided to the farm workers during haying season in years past. Borders Farm grass-fed beef will be available for sale.
We hope to see you at some or all of the events at our October ‘Third Sunday’- the last for this year.
Last 2023 Sunday on the Farm Event This Sunday Oct 15th!
Thanks for your support!
Support Borders Farm by donating during 401 Gives!
Did you know Borders Farm Preservation is a 501c3 nonprofit? We are joining many nonprofit organizations in RI for 401 Gives, a fundraising campaign powered by the United Way of RI.
Now there is an entire weekend to donate to the farm through our profile on the 401gives website. It starts on March 31 at 6am and goes through Monday, April 3 until 6pm. Plenty of time to make a gift and help us grow opportunities for preservation, education, community, and FUN on our beautiful property in rural Foster, RI.
Borders Farm Preservation, Inc. has recently been awarded a $7,500 Rhode Island Foundation Community Grant.
Thanks to this grant Borders Farm will be able to support the improvement of our public trails, parking and signage, as well as community programs and events. Already, a new kiosk at the Balcom Road trailhead has been built and installed by member volunteer Tony McClellan.
The Rhode Island Land Trust Council gave access to and trained members of the Trails Committee on the use of ArcGIS mapping. The trail map created using this highly accurate technology is available at the two parking kiosks and on the Borders Farm website and social media pages.
This award is timely, as John Bradley, the President of and Chair of the Trails Committee passed away in March of 2022. He had initiated the creation of the trail system and inspired three Eagle Scout candidates to construct the trails for their final community service project. We are planning a dedication ceremony to honor John, whose absence is greatly felt, once the Community Grant award projects are completed.
Charles and Margery Borders worked, and loved, their 200-acre dairy farm in Foster, RI. Recognizing that farmland was quickly disappearing in Rhode Island, they resolved to preserve this beautiful and tranquil property as a trust, maintaining the land and history of 20th century rural and agricultural life for future generations. In 2009 Borders Farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Run by volunteers and a Farm Manager, Borders is a working farm with beef cattle, pigs, hay fields, and a farmhouse museum. The public can hike trails through woods and around hayfields and enjoy educational and cultural events focused on rural and agricultural life. Meat from animals raised on the farm is available for purchase seasonally at select farm markets and at the farm by appointment. A large community garden produces fresh vegetables donated to local food pantries.
For more than 100 years, the Rhode Island Foundation has been dedicated to improving the lives of Rhode Islanders. They partner with generous individuals, families, organizations, and corporations that share a commitment to the state, as well as with nonprofit organizations that provide the "boots-on-the-ground" services that make Rhode Island a better place to live, work, and play.
Borders Farm Preservation, Inc. is grateful for their support.
Preserving the Past for the Future
Charles and Margery Borders worked, and loved, their 200-acre dairy farm in Foster, RI. Recognizing that farmland was quickly disappearing in Rhode Island, they resolved to preserve this beautiful and tranquil property as a trust, maintaining the land and history of 20th century rural and agricultural life for future generations. In 2009 Borders Farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Run by volunteers and a Farm Manager, Borders is a working farm with beef cattle, pigs, hay fields, and a farmhouse museum. The public can hike trails through woods and around hayfields and enjoy educational and cultural events focused on rural and agricultural life. Meat from animals raised on the farm is available for purchase at select farm markets and at the farm by appointment . A large community garden produces fresh vegetables donated to local food banks.
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Your financial support will ensure this historical farm remains active for generations to come.