As part of its centennial celebration , Historic New England has recently collected oral histories from local Connecticut dairy farmers – partnering with The Farmer’s Cow, a local cooperative of six dairy farms that supplies fresh milk, cream, all-natural eggs and other products to consumers here and in Rhode Island.

“Roseland Cottage volunteers and the Oral History Office at the University of Connecticut are now working on transcribing the taped interviews for inclusion in an upcoming exhibition about the modern history of Connecticut dairy farming.”

Lisa Centola, Roseland Cottage site manager, who conducted several of the interviews herself, became enamored with the local farms, a significant part of northeast Connecticut’s culture, and recently explained why Historic New England felt it was so important to preserve the history of 20th century dairy farming.

Historic New England, formerly known as the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, dates back to 1910. Following in the footsteps of the society’s founder, William S. Appleton , Centola said, “We want to continue the tradition…focusing on collecting 20th century history. To capture it before it goes.” Historic New England hopes to engage 100 communities in 100 different projects – one of the main focuses including the recent work with The Farmer’s Cow in an effort to document the history of the dairy farm, a declining industry in the state that provides many with jobs and is key to maintaining local sustainability.

Farmer’s Cow members milk more than 2,300 cows and manage more than 6,000 acres of farmland. The industry, while key to maintaining open space and local agriculture, is threatened by economical and developmental pressures , and 290 farms have been lost to these and other adversities since 1990.

Now, with the help of Historic New England, in conjunction with a grant from the Connecticut Humanities Council and possible additional grant funds from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, more people will learn about the historical and agriculture relevance of our state’s dairy farms.

Centola said the oral histories, interviews with not just the farmers but also the family members who work alongside them, will be preserved in the archives of Historic New England, available at local historical societies, featured in part at each farm and hosted this summer as a textual panel exhibition , along with photographs, inside the Roseland Cottage carriage barn. The exhibition is planned for June - National Dairy Month.

“They interviewed my father and my daughter,” said Kristin O’Leary Orr, from Fort Hill Farms in Thompson, “It’s so amazing.”

“No longer does everyone have an uncle or brother or father that works on a farm or owns a chicken,” said Bill Peracchio of Hytone Farm in Coventry during his interview.

We have come to a point in time when not everyone is aware of where the food we eat comes from – something that Historic New England hopes to help remedy by documenting the history of 20th century agriculture and sharing that knowledge with the thousands that visit Farmer’s Cow farms and Roseland Cottage. The exhibition will travel, but additional locations have not yet been decided.

Robin Chesmer, managing partner with The Farmer’s Cow, Graywall Farms in Lebanon, is thrilled to have The Farmer’s Cow featured in this manner, “We’re really honored” he said, “They have a far reaching plan to get the display and the history out there so the public can view and understand it.” Chesmer also said, “Each farm has a different story. Some of our farmers are multi-generational and some are new to the business.”

Learn more at: www.TheFarmers-Cow .com

Discover all that’s happening across the region this year at www.Historic-NewEngland .org/Centennial.