Adams Farm is not a legally-defined property. It is made up of over 700 acres of land, of which approximately 365 acres were purchased under the override in 1997. It also loosely includes land in private conservation trusts adjacent to the town-owned land, and the property already owned by the Town, as well as adjacent property owned by the New England Forestry Foundation and the Norfolk County Agricultural School. The Friends of Adams Farm has close ties and agreements of cooperation with both of these organizations in promoting our mutual objectives. In total, this adds up to over 700 acres.

The town-owned land that makes up a portion of Adams Farm was owned by the Isaacs family prior to being sold to the town in 1997.

The Isaacs family were long-time Walpole residents. Mr. Isaacs was an executive of the First National Bank of Boston. He also was an early conservationist who, over the years, acquired property in Walpole and other locations in eastern Massachusetts. His purchases, in addition to his North Street home, included about 400 acres across and down North Street, including Hillcrest Farm. Hillcrest Farm was the original farmhouse and barns for the current Adams Farm property. He placed most of this property in a protective tax mode, both agricultural- and forestry-related. It is our understanding that his objective was to keep the property in its pristine condition for the future.

Upon his death, his son Kenneth C.A. Isaacs assumed control as administrator of his father's estate. Facing estate taxation issues as administrator, much like family farms everywhere, he was forced to offer the property for development in order to meet estate tax obligations. However, with the tax protection mode selected by the senior Isaacs, the Town of Walpole had the right-of-first-refusal.

Based on the recommendation of the Selectmen of Walpole, as proposed by the Isaacs Land Study Committee, an $8 million override ballot question was adopted to pick up the Town's option. This override was passed by the people of Walpole, and here we are! This vote speaks volumes to the intent of the people of Walpole to preserve this land for the future.

The initial purchase cost to the Town was $7,715,000. At this time, had we not purchased the Farm, many of the 170 (or more) houses would have been built with the attendance increase in the school population, placing even more serious pressure on the School, Public Safety, and Public Works services of the town.