Saving Simeone Farm

By Clare Siska Tucked away behind a handful of houses on Stow, Maple and Martin Streets in South Acton lies the Caouette-Simeone property 15+ acres of farmland, a stretch of Fort Pond Brook, and the westerly portion of Mill Pond. On its eastern edge stretches the old Marlborough Branch railroad spur that will soon become part of the Assabet River Rail Trail. Teeming with wildlife such as deer, beaver, woodchucks, hawks, geese, owls, herons and ducks, the land can be reached via a short tractor path off Maple Street, directly across from the planned pedestrian drop-off point for the new South Acton train station. The Caouette-Simeone farm is one of the South Actons gems and a significant part of its history. In the mid-1600s it was part of a tract of land granted to Major Simon Willard by the British General Court, and used to harvest wood for the production of charcoal. In 1701, Samuel Jones and his partners his brother Ephraim Jones and Jonathan Knight bought 600 acres around the great falls of Fort Pond Brook. The Jones brothers dammed the brook to form the mill pond, harnessing the water power to run small mills that were the first of many industrial enterprises at what was to become Actons early industrial village, Mill Corner, now the center of South Acton. Each of the partners established a large farm nearby. According to Belle Choate, local historian, Samuel Jones farm was handed down to his daughter, Carrie Jones Kimball, and stayed in the Jones family until the 1960s. Meanwhile, in the 1940s, members of the Simeone family moved to Acton, leasing and eventually buying surrounding lands. Angelo (Tony) Simeone joined his family in Acton in 1956, purchasing first a smaller, 3+ acre plot off Martin Street, then adding the Jones Stow Street pasture to his farm in the 1960s. Tony worked the land alongside his cousins until his death in 1998. Since then, the Caouette-Simeone parcel has been leased to Carl Simeone, who farms it as part of Stonefield Farm. Each spring, the steady tick-tick-tick of metal on wood floats rhythmically over the neighborhood as workers place the hundreds of stakes that will support the growing plants. Tractors lumber down Martin and Stow Streets, their drivers exchanging greetings with passersby. Over the years, the farm has produced peppers, pumpkins, tomatoes, eggplant and other produce sold at stands in Waltham and Watertown, as well as at Actons Idylwilde Farm. Stonefield Farms seasonal garden center on Martin Street bustles from early spring to late fall as locals take advantage of their sales of annuals, perennials, fruit and vegetable starts, and other garden supplies. The property also has close ties to Actons industrial past. In addition to the mills, in 1892 the Jones family built a small, three-story wood frame factory alongside the railroad tracks. There the Kimballs produced high quality leather products until 1908, followed by the firm of Moore, Burgess and Cram, who manufactured woven webbing on the site. The factory foundation can still be located in the brush between the railroad bed and the open fields. Other industries that bordered the property include J. P Browns blacksmith shop at what is now 10 Stow Street, Earl Frank Haywards machine shop at 30 Stow Street (now Lombardo Loam) and an ice house on the western edge of Mill Pond, operated by W. O. Strout. From its earliest days to the present and into the future, the Caouette-Simeone land is a part of the heart of South Acton. Today, residents have a unique opportunity to preserve this land under a perpetual conservation restriction, so that it can continue to be available to lease for farming purposes, its abundant wildlife, historical echoes and pastoral views accessible for all residents to enjoy, whether from the rail trail, picnic benches or peripheral walking paths. Notes on Sources: My sources for this article were Acton residents and historians Bill Klauer, Belle Choate and Anne Forbes, property owner Mary Ann Caouette, Carrie Jones Kimballs granddaughter, Jane Bulette, and the following library sources: A Brief History of Acton (Acton Historical Society, 1974) pages 8 & 9 Images of America - Acton (William A. Klauer, Arcadia Publishing, 2001) pages 23, 71, & 72 This article was first published in the June, 2010 edition of the Acton Beacon.