The Wright-Locke Farm had its origin in a 1638 decision by the Town of Charlestown to
establish a new community to the northwest. One of the original settlers of the new
site, in an area known as Waterfield, was John Wright. He and his descendants owned
and operated the farm until 1800, when Philemon Wright sold the farm to Josiah Locke,
Sr. and emigrated to Canada where he and his fellow émigrés founded the first white
settlement in the Ottawa region.
Josiah passed the farm to his son, Asa, in 1804. Asa erected the present farmhouse on
the site of an earlier Wright house in 1828. He gradually expanded the farm to 182
acres, developing extensive market gardens and orchards. In 1872 he divided the
property between his two sons, Josiah and Asa, with the house, farm buildings and
approximately 100 acres (some of them over the line in Lexington) retained by Josiah.
Following Josiah's death in 1899, the property passed to his son, George, who continued
to operate the farm as a market garden.
Around 1920, eager to capitalize on the growing demand for fresh produce year-around,
George put up a structure specifically designed to store Blue Hubbard squash over the
winter months. Well-ventilated, centrally heated, and filled with sturdy racks, this
squash house, as the building is properly known, could hold an estimated 200 tons of
Blue Hubbard squashes. It is believed that the particular variety of Blue Hubbard grown
at the farm was the Symmes Blue Hubbard, developed locally by a member of the
Winchester Symmes family. Blue Hubbards are large squashes, weighing in at up to 50
pounds. They were particularly prized by the best restaurants and hotels in Boston.
Following the death of George Locke in 1921, the farm passed to his two sons, Chester
and Wendell. They continued limited market garden operations, gradually reducing the
farm to 18 acres and the area under cultivation to nine acres. Much of the former farm
land became house lots, but 30 acres of woodland, marsh and swamp lying in Lexington
were acquired by that town in 1969 to become part of the Whipple Hill Conservation
Area. Another 20 acres adjacent to Lexington and the Whipple Hill reservation were
acquired by the Town of Winchester in 1972 and set aside for conservation in an area
known as the Locke Farm Conservation Area. In 1964 Curtis and Bertha Hamilton
purchased a small piece of the farm and constructed a residence at 82 Ridge Street,
adjacent to the old farm house. They continued growing a limited number of crops and
saw to the well-being of the two Locke sons as they aged. In 1974, the Hamiltons
purchased the remainder of the farm and moved into the main farmhouse. They
eventually settled upon raspberries as their signature crop, selling them most years
through a pick-your-own operation.
In 2007, following the death of Curtis Hamilton, the Town of Winchester purchased the
farm, designating 10 acres for potential development and the remainder, which include
the historic farm house and associated buildings, for conservation. The Conservancy
continues the pick-your-own raspberry operation and has re-introduced market farming
as well as farm-based education programs for children.
Of the many market gardens that existed in Winchester, Arlington, Belmont and
Watertown at the turn of the 20th century, the Wright-Locke Farm is one of the few still
in operation today. The Conservancy is proud to be able to maintain and foster this last
link with the Town's agricultural past.