Brothers-in-law Nick Del Vecchio and Dave Gow set out to turn an aging farm in Fayette into a wedding venue in 2023. What they found in the process, over three years later, was a community with deep ties to the farm, eager and ready to help preserve its legacy.

A 66-acre property nestled on a quiet road in Fayette, a town with just over 1,000 people, South Road Farm boasts expansive, panoramic views of the surrounding forests and lakes. With two restored barns and a farmhouse, the venue will now be home to couples exchanging vows and ‘I dos’ starting in May.

But long before that, South Road Farm was no stranger to watching families develop and grow.

Continuously farmed for over 230 years — longer than Maine has been a state — the farm has been home to almost a dozen families, some with lasting ties to the area.

And as Del Vecchio and Gow set out to restore the farm, they found themselves enveloped in that history as neighbors came out of the woodwork, figuratively, to lend a helping hand and exchange stories and memories about the farm.

NEIGHBORLY CONNECTIONS

Del Vecchio and Gow knew their plans to restore South Road Farm and turn it into a wedding venue might not be well-received in the small community. They wanted to be conscientious of any potential disruptions to the peaceful way of life on South Road.

Instead they found a community that welcomed them with open arms and was eager to help— often without even being asked.

When the basement of the farmhouse flooded, Bob Black, who grew up on the property when his father owned it, showed up unannounced to pump it out.

Another neighbor and retired electrical engineer, Dick Bragg, showed up regularly with his tractor to lend a hand.

Dyanna Lincoln, the unofficial historian for the property and niece of its previous owners, dedicated her time to researching and compiling the extensive genealogy records of the farm, as well as sharing photos and stories of her experiences growing up and getting married there.

Del Vecchio said he met a neighbor who was just excited to sit out in his yard and hear the bands play during weddings.

“The way in which people have welcomed us and been so open with us has been like mind-blowing,” Del Vecchio said. “It’s unbelievable, the sort of kindness that people have shown to us and the desire to lend a hand.”

So while the restoration process was long, and the history of the farm even longer, it was partly a neighborhood effort that brought it into its new life.

“I know it’s an important piece of property for a lot of people,” Gow said. “I think people are proud that it’s being showcased and are thrilled that it’s getting this next chapter of its long life.”

STORIED HISTORY

South Road Farm’s history began with the first owner, a Revolutionary War veteran, farmer and carpenter named Joseph Watson, who bought the land in 1794 and built the first house, stable and barn. The foundation of the center-kitchen chimney still exists beneath the farmhouse.

Over the following decades, the farm changed hands, at times in unusual ways. When the Fisk family sold the farm in 1876 to Orren and Hannah Foss, it was on the condition that they support and care for an aging Fanny Fisk for the rest of her life.

In 1944, Channing Harris sold the farm to Ben Black for $1, on the condition that Harris could spend the rest of his life on the farm. Black, who grew up as a farmhand on the property, and his family ran a slaughterhouse there until the 1960s and owned the farm until 1998.

“I’ve never heard of anything like that before,” Del Vecchio said. “I think it’s like an interesting insight into like how personal these land transactions were at that period.”

Black’s son, Bob Black, still lives down the road and has been instrumental in helping with the restoration and sharing stories about the property.

Tom and Sylvia Andrews owned the farm from 1998-2019, selling vegetables, raising livestock and farm animals, and running a small pesto business. Lincoln, their niece, visited the farm frequently while growing up and lives within walking distance.

She has devoted herself to researching and compiling the farm’s history and is writing a historical fiction novel that takes place there.

“My experience on the farm was coming from Portland, the city, and coming into the farm and just really loving the tranquility, the solitude, the farm noises,” Lincoln said. “I have a strong emotional attachment, of course, to the farm, which really drove me to want to research all the people who live there and those things that they would have farmed.”

With deep family history in Wayne, where she grew up before moving to Portland, she viewed her time on the farm with her aunt and uncle as a reintroduction or calling back to her family roots, as well as the reason she eventually moved to Fayette.

Lincoln isn’t worried about Del Vecchio and Gow’s restoration and plans for the farm as a wedding venue. In fact, her wedding was on the farm in 2008.

“It’s perfect for that,” Lincoln said. “It’s an experience. People can have a real three-day experience living, being in the country, and sharing a part of history.”

ROAD TO RESTORATION

When Gow and Del Vecchio bought the farm in 2023, they mistakenly thought the restoration would take them one year. More than 3 1/2 years later, they’re finally ready to book weddings for May.

With Gow’s background as a carpenter and Del Vecchio’s experience in engineering and technology, the brothers-in-law decided they wanted to explore a business opportunity that combined their skills. When Del Vecchio, who lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, planned his wedding, he said he fell in love with creating an experience for guests.

They looked for a property within driving distance of Gow — who lives in Portland with his wife, Alexis, who is Del Vecchio’s sister — for a year before they found South Road Farm. When Gow toured the property in the middle of winter, he was blown away by the surrounding views.

“It’s not just the barns that makes the property so special. It’s really the land, and the setting that they’re in, in combination,” Gow said. “You can see the mountains in the background, and the hills, and the rolling fields, it’s just a really bucolic setting.”

Gow was tasked with restoring the two barns while Del Vecchio focused on the business side of their future wedding venue.

In the restoration process, Gow said he focused as much as possible on highlighting the original post-and-beam structure and craftsmanship. He re-sided each barn and reinforced the structures, as well as connecting the two barns with decks so guests can seamlessly move through them.

“I had to use, like, 200-plus-year-old material, or at least in some cases make it look like it was that old, so that it still feels like a barn of that age,” Gow said. “I really didn’t want to mess with the integrity and the character of what was existing because it just speaks for itself.”

While the farmhouse is one of the oldest buildings on the property, it needed only minor upgrades after a previous owner renovated it within the past 25 years, Gow said. The farmhouse will provide rooming for wedding parties and their families.

But the overall work has presented unique challenges. During a winter storm one year, the roof of the smaller barn blew straight off.

“In hindsight, I probably would have preferred like maybe 100-year-old barns,” Del Vecchio joked. “They have a lot of challenges. Like you tear one wall down, and it’s like, there are six more things that you have to fix.”

Now that the restoration is finally coming to an end, Gow and Del Vecchio are excited for guests to experience the magic of the property.

“We’re just the newest stewards of (the property), and trying to … put our own stamp on it, and highlight some of our our improvements but really, the whole time honoring what a special place it is,” Gow said.