Forrest Waterhouse was born in the farmhouse on his family’s property in 1920. He passed away 96 years later in the same home. The Waterhouse Farm operated for many years as a dairy and transitioned to a beef cattle operation in the 1970’s. More than just a historical property, the 427 acre Waterhouse Farm is an iconic piece of Maine scenery. Located on North Pownal Road in New Gloucester, the farm lies between two of the Royal River Conservation Trust’s primary focus areas for land conservation, Pisgah Hill in New Gloucester and Runaround Pond in Durham. The conservation of Waterhouse Farm is helping to connect precious unfragmented land blocks, retaining our area’s scenic beauty and protecting natural habitat.
The Royal River Conservation Trust and Maine Farmland Trust worked together to purchase the forever farm conservation easement on June 30, 2017, now held and monitored by the Royal River Conservation Trust. By selling this easement the current generation fulfilled the older generation’s desire for the property to always remain as a farm. Because of Waterhouse Farm’s location in a rapidly developing area, RRCT’s agricultural conservation easement includes an Option to Purchase at Agricultural Value (OPAV), which is an extra measure intended to ensure the farm remains in the ownership of an active farmer.
Currently, Waterhouse Farm is primarily a beef cattle farm. You can drive through the farm on North Pownal Road and take in the scenery and see the cattle, but Waterhouse Farm is very much a working farm and isn’t set up for visitors.
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