By KARA O'CONNOR Villager Staff Writer
WILTON --
Years of research, documentation and fact verifying has finally paid off for the Drum Hill Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
After an 11 year process, a historic marker was placed at Ambler Farm in Wilton on Sunday afternoon.
"Accomplishing this goal took many people and many years," said Alice Ayers, a Wilton resident who is a member of the DAR's Drum Hill Chapter. "We are just thrilled that a historic marker has finally been placed at Ambler Farm."
The placement of a historic marker at the Hurlbutt Street farm preserves the agricultural history of Wilton, said Ayers, and also serves as an educational purpose to the town.
"This is very exciting for Wilton," she said. "A historic marker is a pretty prominent thing, and Ambler Farm really represents the heritage of our town."
Ambler Farm was owned by the Raymond-Ambler family for more than 200 years, making it one of the oldest farms in Wilton owned by a single family. The two sisters who owned the farm, Elizabeth Raymond and Hannah Raymond-Ambler, were members of the DAR's Drum Hill Chapter in 1986, only six years after the chapter was established. The farm, which was purchased by the town in 1999, was once 300 acres and was one of most prosperous farms in the area, said Ayers.
"Ambler farm was a very prosperous piece of land, which is now owned by the town," said Ayers. "It has been an important part of our agricultural history for over 200 years and it's important to recognize that."
Alice Brown, the marker chairman for the Drum Hill Chapter, said there are several things the DAR has to accomplish before placing a historic marker on a piece of property, including: giving a detailed description of the location of the marker in a physical format, getting permission from the town, verifying all the historical facts on the marker and including two letters of documentation by historical experts. She said the wording on the marker carefully explains the history of Ambler Farm and the two sisters that owned it.
"I'm ecstatic this is finally finished because it has taken a lot of hard work to get here," said Brown. "I think that the town is very fortunate to have Ambler Farm, and now to have this marker that explains it's history."
Ambler Farm now joins three other historic sites in Wilton which have received a DAR historic marker. Among the three other sites are the Wilton Heritage Museum, which includes the Sloan-Raymond-Fitch house; Drum Hill, which overlooks the area where early drummers alerted the town to Indian raids, fires, town meetings and church services; and the Comstock Cemetery site, where soldiers from the French and Indian Wars and the Revolution are buried.
Ann Bell, president of the Friends of Ambler Farm, said she is honored a historic marker has been placed at the farm. "We are very happy to have the marker at Ambler and have the farm recognized as a historic symbol for Wilton," said Bell. "It's a nice representation of what Ambler Farm means to the town."
http://www.wiltonvillager.com/story/477255
