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| History |
The Gervais Family - Fall 2006 |
Adrien and Evelyn Gervais purchased the farm in 1968 and grew tobacco until 1979. Getting out of the tobacco industry, strawberries were the first crop, beginning in 1977, followed by blueberries, raspberries and asparagus in the mid 80's. By the 90's the blueberry fields had grown to 40 acres, making Barrie Hill Farms the largest highbush blueberry farm in Ontario - a fact that remains true today. The farm continues to offer customers new and exciting products. For instance, in 1998 peas were added to our list of crops, and in 1999 green and yellow beans.
In 2002 cucumbers and spinach were added to the list. The various crops grown can be found on the products page.
The farm is still family owned and
operated. Adrien and Evelyn's older son
Morris operates the farm. Adrien is semi-retired, and while he continues to help
out around the farm, he devotes most of his spare time to his favourite pastime - growing giant pumpkins! You can see a replica of his 1999 champion on display at the farm entrance.
The farm as it is today, and as it was when the Gervais family established Barrie Hill Farms as a tobacco farm in 1968. Notice the 8 large kilns that were used to dry the tobacco. Today, the area where the kilns once stood is the parking lot for our pick your own customers. Aerial photo provided by Eye in the Sky
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