History of the Farm All of the land of what now comprises Buxton was part of the Narragansett No. 1, which was set aside by England as a reward to those from the colony of Massachusetts who had fought in the King Phillip Wars on behalf of the crown. There were a number of land grants to veterans of this war, with Narragansett No. 1 and Narragansett No. 2, now Gorham, Maine, being set aside for those who were from the north shore towns of Massachusetts including Georgetown and Rowley. Of course, it took almost 100 years after the war for the this previously uninhabited land to be charted and for officials to be appointed to make the awards. As might be expected, most of the awards went to the descendants of those who had fought.  

What we named Fiddler's Green Farm was from the beginning a subsistence farm, with both the original owner, Nathan Elden, and the next owners Andrew and Joseph Hobson having a share in one of the first sawmills on the Saco River at Moderation Falls in West Buxton. The original part of the house itself dates to 1790. Additions were made in about 1820 and again in 1982. The barn dates from the early 1800's.  The farm was purchased from the Hobsons in 1826 by Moses K. Wells, the year that Maine became a state separate from Massachusetts. The Wells family held the land up until 1929 when it was sold to Herbert Rose and his wife, Ella Robinson Rose.  Over the many years it was held by the Wells family, it was a working farm. Until the death of Frederick R. Wells, son of Moses Wells, there were dairy herds on the land and large expanses of pastures and hayfields. There is some evidence that the wooded areas of the farm were harvested during Frederick's ownership, and he sold a substantial portion of river frontage in 1907 to the Cumberland Power and Light Company so that the West Buxton Dam could flood this part of the River. This flooding also cut off a road that ran from what is now Warren Road, between the house and the barn and then continued to the village. This left the farm at the end of that previous thoroughfare.  When Frederick died sometime after 1922, the property was left to a daughter, Harriet Wells Crowther who lived in Hollis. At this point, the home was abandoned although hay continued to be harvested and sold to neighboring farmers.  

Herbert Rose and his family, originally from Port Washington New York, used the farm as a summer place, but he intended to retire here. Unfortunately he died shortly after his retirement and the farm, which continued to be held by his children, and was provided as a life estate to his second wife, Martha Rose. We purchased the property in 1974 from Mrs. Rose, and after a great deal of renovation involving the house & barn , and reclamation by field clearing, fence building, and some new sheds and outbuildings, we started our herd of Belted Galloways in 1981. 

Why Belted Galloways? We chose the Belted Galloways because of their wonderful qualities including heartiness, meat quality, docile nature and their ability to calve easily. Of course, we also think that they are without a doubt the most handsome and attractive cattle in the world and by far, have the cutest and most adorable calves. We find that they thrive in our green fields and handle our most severe winter weather without any problems. We have maintained our focus to develop a healthy and independent blood line utilizing only highly selected bulls and our own carefully bred heifer stock. 

Owner John Charest is a retired Master Mariner, having served as Captain aboard U.S. merchant ships all over the world. He is a member of the Silver Mariners of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY. He ascribes his interest in farming and in cattle to over 35 years on the blue sea while longing for productive green fields and claims to have a particular affection for his 1977 John Deere tractor. The name of the farm, Fiddler's Green, is drawn from the name of a mythical island off the coast of Ireland. This island, where all is well and happy, is where good sailors go when they leave this earth. Captain Charest has no intention of totally retiring, but rather will be hard at work at the farm making further improvements, refining the breeding stock and consulting to maritime organization