NASHUA (AP) — A preservation effort will protect the last working farm in a New Hampshire city from development, a forestry organization said Wednesday.

The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests closed on a conservation easement to protect the 52-acre Sullivan Farm in Nashua, which dates back more than 100 years. A total of $1.4 million was raised for its purchase from many organizations and the city of Nashua.

The farm was used for dairy cows and vegetable farming. An orchard was later planted.

Today, the farm, with its familiar red barn, offers the community a farmstand, pick-your-own orchards, annual agricultural events and activities, as well as walking trails. The conservation easement will keep the land as a working farm.

“With my family having farmed this land for more than a century, I wanted to ensure its protection while I still could,” said owner Kathy Williams, whose family has farmed the land since 1911. “It’s such a big part of our family history and of the fabric of this community. As agricultural land continues to disappear, I wanted to do my part to keep our farm from becoming just a memory.”

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