Farm Land Trust purchases 29-acre James family property in Rochester

Olympia-based nonprofit Community Farm Land Trust has acquired 29 acres of the historic James family 1852 pioneer farm south of Rochester.

The farmland will continue to be used for food production and farming, the land trust says in a news release, and will be leased to Common Ground Community Supportive Action, one of the region’s oldest community supported growers group that provides local farm-produced goods.

“I believe this will be a great asset to the community. … I am thankful to be part of the vision of stewardship of the land and the sustainability of vital agriculture and farming for family, neighbors, community and generations to follow,” said sisters Gayle and Cheryl James in a statement.

Along with their sister Lori James, the trio sold the property to Community Farm Land Trust. The sisters have a strong personal connection to their grandparents’ farm, and are aware of its historical significance as well.

“As children, we had many years of enjoying wonderful times spent with our cousins playing in the barn, sliding down the hill on cardboard, eating giant Wolf River apples from the orchard ‘down over the hill,’ walking to the river and sharing Sunday dinners around our grandparents’ table, sometimes eating wild nettles that were gathered nearby,” Lori James said.

Prior to the James family’s occupation of the land, it was used by the upper Chehalis Tribe.

“From the beginning, relations between the James family and the Chehalis Tribe were friendly with reciprocal trade and other social interactions. In 1854, when a second wave of European diseases struck the Chehalis, the James family helped care for the sick, taking in the worst cases and providing medicine,” the news release stated.

In return, the Chehalis Tribe granted the James family permission to stay on the prairie as permanent residents.

“We grew up knowing how indebted the James family was to the Chehalis Tribe for their generosity in allowing them to settle on their land, providing them a chance to create a new life,” Lori James said.

Major funding for the acquisition came from the Thurston County Conservation Futures program, the Tides Foundation and the Community Farm Land Trust.