Unkamet Farm's livestock and machinery will go on the auction block Monday, bringing to an end a farming history that dates back to pre-Revolutionary days.

The farm buildings and approximately 80 acres of land on the south side of Crane Avenue have been sold by Delmont L. Tufts to Lawrence P. Goyette of 7 Lebanon Ave.

Mrs. Edwin L. Keyes, Mr. Tufts' daughter, said that her father will retain title to approximately 75 acres of farm and woodland on the north side of Crane Avenue.

"We'll sell the standing hay, and the land itself probably will be sold for development purposes sometime in the future," Mrs. Keyes said.

Mr. Goyette, treasurer of Goyette Bros., Inc., farm machinery retail firm at 740 Crane Ave., said he has no definite plans for the buildings and land he is buying. He said he may do some dairy farming.

It would appear likely that this land also will be developed as housing sites at some future date. Mr. Tufts started in 1948 selling off portions of the farm property for housing.

Mr. Tufts and his wife are in Largo, Fla. Mrs. Keyes, who is representing her father in the transactions, said that Mr. Goyette is buying the buildings at 650 Crane Ave., and the land on the south side of the road for approximately $40,000. She said that Mr. Tufts has retained the right to live in the house for 10 years. Mrs. Keyes and her husband also will continue to live at 650 Crane Ave.

Mr. Keyes has been general manger of Unkamet Farm for 25 years. His future plans are indefinite.

Mrs. Keyes said that the decision to sell the farm was prompted by the need for rather extensive capital improvements in equipment if it were to be continued in operation as a dairy farm. The farm is still producing 1,000 pounds of milk a day. The milk is sold to Crescent Creamery.

Mrs. Keyes said that the property that comprises Unkamet Farm was being tilled as early as 1761, the year Pittsfield was incorporated. At that time it was owned by the Partridge family, one of the city's founding clans.

Title to the farm land later passed to one William F. Milton. He left practically all of his estate, including the Pittsfield farm, to Harvard University. Winthrop M. Crane Jr. of Dalton purchased the farm from Harvard, and Mr. Tufts bought it from Mr. Crane in 1929.

Mr. Tufts came here from Deep River, Conn., where he had been plant superintendent for the Pratt Read & Co. He retired from active operation of the farm three years ago.

The farm land purchased by Mr. Goyette runs from Unkamet Drive on the west to roughly Unkamet Brook on the east. 

Unkamet, according to Mrs. Keyes, means "head of the waters." She says she thinks the name was given to the farm by Mr. Crane.

This Story in History is selected from the archives by Jeannie Maschino, The Berkshire Eagle.

Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989.

Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.