Originally a stage-coach hostelry in Revolutionary-era Old Dunstable, the manor house of a large farm along today’s Daniel Webster Highway would endure for generations and eventually become the centerpiece around which Nashua’s iconic Green Ridge Turkey Farm and Restaurant was built.

Through several ownership changes and one major fire, the Green Ridge served not just turkey, but also lobster, clams, scallops and everyday favorites like hamburgers and macaroni and cheese.

But the landmark, originally Kimball’s, then briefly Flanders Green Ridge Turkey Farm before the Charpentier brothers bought it in 1954, was best known for its turkeys, which were sold either “drawn and ready for the oven” or “cooked and pan roasted.” Even better, Green Ridge made its own dressing and gravy.

The restaurant that grew into a must-destination for turkey lovers across the Northeast got its start when George and Grace Kimball bought the 200-acre property in 1931 and opened a farm stand.

The stand’s frontage on Daniel Webster Highway contributed to the Kimballs’ success, and, by 1938, they expanded to include turkey sandwiches and ice cream. But it was their decision two years later to build a small, eat-in restaurant and serve their own farm-fresh birds that put the farm on the map.

Its popularity skyrocketed as testimonials poured in. Soon the growing farm could raise 6,000 turkeys at a time. Weekdays, weekends and holidays alike the parking lot was jammed with turkey lovers. Thanksgiving, of course, stood alone for its record crowds.

Then, disaster.

“’The Green Ridge farm building is ready to explode!” a caller shouted frantically into a telephone the evening of Nov. 27, 1950. On the other end was a Nashua Fire Department dispatcher who in seconds was besieged by too many phone calls to answer.

Meanwhile, Dr. Frank Flagg was banging on the door of the Kimballs’ home about 100 yards north of the Green Ridge. The news wasn’t good; their popular restaurant was ablaze.

The three set out in search of a working phone, as many were still out from the recent storm. But plenty of people with service could see the fire, and calls were streaming in.

With no Station 3 at the time, Lake Street’s Station 2 was the closest, a pretty long run for trucks of ’30s and ’40s vintage. A crew from the old Central Station followed them in, but a general alarm was quickly struck to summon all off-duty and call men to the scene.

Hydrants hadn’t yet arrived in the still sparsely populated south end. Crews rushed to a nearby pond to set up a water-supply relay. Crowds gathered; the fire grew more intense.

By morning’s light, the landmark was in ruins. Kimballs had insurance, but nowhere near enough to rebuild, George Kimball said at the time. Devastated, he decided to put the farm up for sale.

With spring 1951 came a buyer. Howard Flanders set out to rebuild the restaurant, and just over a year later, in July 1952, the landmark reopened.

Flanders’ tenure, however, was short-lived. In 1954, he sold the restaurant to brothers Luc, Victor and Edmund Charpentier, who returned the eatery to

its heyday for the next four decades.

By the mid-’90s, with the Daniel Webster Highway and Spit Brook Road exploding with new construction around them, the Charpentiers accepted an offer from the Barnes & Noble chain. The Green Ridge era had ended, but not without leaving a plethora of memories for many.

– DEAN SHALHOUP