Suzy and Todd searched all over New England looking for the perfect property for their farm and cabin business. In 2016, they spent every weekend traveling to Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. One weekend they traveled to Vermont to go to a friend's wedding, and, of course, stopped and looked at some more real estate listings on the way. Although they had each lived in the Burlington area some time ago, this was their first time driving through central Vermont together. They both had fond memories of the area. Suzy went to summer camp close by as a child, and Todd participated numerous times in the Covered Bridges Half Marathon.
After that visit, they began to focus their search on central Vermont. The first time they visited the farm on Best Road, Todd saw a property which would need too much work to "work," but Suzy was in love! Suzy thought the land had a fascinating history, beauty, and so much potential. It was perfect!
The Ambros family purchased the property in 1950. They were a military family living in Virginia, when they decided to move to a more rural setting. They wanted a place for their son with autism to be able to live safely. The mother, Melissa Mather, was an author and documented their story of moving to rural Vermont, in her gripping memoir called the “Rough Road Home”. They became homesteaders and raised cows for milk, cultivated beautiful gardens and grew some infamous potatoes! Excerpts from her book were featured in a series of Saturday Evening Post articles in 1958.
Needless to say, in a few months, Suzy and Todd bought the farm and began putting their plan into action. Once they moved in, they didn't waste a minute getting started. In their first few months, they began clearing out land for pasture, plowing fields, creating the crop plan, building deer fences and sheep pasture fences, renovating the old pole barn, putting up solar panels, and deciding on the final plans of the cabins. Oh yeah, they also had a baby, got a puppy and got married that first year too. Suzy and Todd are so grateful for their new home, and all the support and help they have enjoyed in bringing their dream to life.
