In 1933, Wallace and Maude Spear, and their children, Herbert and Helen, moved to Nobleboro to “live off the land.” Their farm consisted of one cow, one horse, and a few chickens. By the 1940’s the farm had grown to include around 60 cows and 2000 chickens.
Herbert married Edna and they had four children. Bob Spear, son of Herbert and Edna, majored in Agricultural Sciences at the University of Maine at Orono, and he dedicated his efforts to the farm after graduation from college. In 1969, a large 160‘x60’ free-stall barn was built with a milking parlor for 120 cows.
When Bob’s father died in 1975, Bob’s brother, Richard, headed back to help
with the farm. In addition to the 120 milking cows, the Spears began growing
vegetables. In 1992, Terry and Jeff, the sons of Bob and his wife Janet, joined
the farm operation. The farm has grown from one acre of market vegetables
to several hundred acres. The Spears run two retail farm stands and participate in three different farmers markets in downtown Brunswick, at Crystal Springs Farm, and at the Exhibition Hall at the Topsham Fairgrounds.
The Spears now concentrate on vegetable production. They raise heifer replacements and beef cattle. The Spears believe in the concept of a “family farm.” The grandchildren lend a hand in the summer and there is the hope that the Spear Family Farm will be operating with
the assistance of Spear family members for generations to come.
