Mission:
The mission of the Town's Lachat Oversight Committee is to provide ways to unite all generations around a community farm effort by celebrating Weston's farming roots through extensive educational programs, related to agriculture, the environment, sustainability, nutrition and the arts as they relate to the history of Weston and it's diverse community.
History
The Lachat Farm at the Juliana Lachat Preserve
In 1997, the late Leon Lachat left his 42-acre working farm on Godfrey Road West, and abutting Devil's Den, to the town of Weston and the Nature Conservancy. Lachat dedicated the property for public and educational use that emphasizes Weston's agricultural roots. Through a dual lease agreement in 2011, the conservancy oversees the wooded area next to its Devil's Den Preserve (about 22.5 acres) and the town is responsible for the front meadow portion of the property (about 19 acres), including the buildings.
Pre-Revolutionary Homestead
The property includes a pre-Revolutionary homestead, currently under restoration with significant contributions from Weston residents and funds from the CT Trust for Historic Preservation and The 1772 Foundation. The Lachat farmhouse is listed on the Connecticut State Register of Historic Places. The homestead will provide on-site housing for a farmer as well as classroom space for education. A historically significant milking barn and carriage shed offer great potential space for farming including the CSA pickup, farm stand sales and as a community gathering space. The classic New England farmland setting includes roughly three-acres of good-quality, sandy loam soil for the planned production garden and community plots as well as a hilly section consisting of several acres that may be used in subsequent phases for orchards, a vineyard and grazing.
"Old Weston"
The property is considered highly desirable because it has a lot of unspoiled beauty, meadows and open space. It looks like old Weston.
