Larrabee Legacy: Five Generations of Farmers

The Larrabee family has Nantucket roots that shoot down five generations deep. Tom Larrabee has worked as a farmer for decades, first at the cranberry bogs with the Nantucket Conservation Foundation (NCF), and now on a small farm of his own. Since retiring from NCF, Tom has established My Grandfather’s Farm on a piece of land his grandfather farmed before him at 101 Hummock Pond Road.

“This is really the last piece of the Larrabee farming on Nantucket,” said Tom. “And we’re excited to continue the tradition.” 

The Larrabee legacy on Nantucket began when Tom’s great grandfather Harry I met a woman at Harvard and followed her to the island. He was the first Larrabee to arrive on Nantucket and established the family tradition of living off the land. 

Harry I started a dairy farm and had five children, Tom’s grandfather Harry II being the only boy. With four sisters, Harry II became fed up with having to do all the farm chores, and set off for the mainland, beginning his career in the Hingham shipyard building landing crafts during World War II.

Before long, the gravitational pull of the island (and of his four sisters) tugged Tom’s grandfather back. He got 35-acres of land on Hummock Pond Road and farmed that land for the rest of his life.

“My grandfather turned over the upper field over here every year and planted vegetables to feed the whole neighborhood,” said Tom.

Harry Larrabee II, raking hay on the family farm.

This land was split up between Tom’s dad and two uncles, and a portion of it was later sold to Marty McGowan and became Pumpkin Pond Farm. Tom’s father, Thomas Sr., got 15 acres where My Grandfather’s Farm stands today. Tom Sr. farmed the land on the side while balancing a full-time job at the cranberry bogs, much like his grandson Nick. On the weekends Nick puts in hours at My Grandfather’s Farm when he is off from his full-time job as Director of Land Management for NCF. 

Although the days are long and the labor is hard, the Larrabees are quick to point out that nature pauses for no one, and they like it that way.

“There’s no days off in farming!” Tom laughed. “But one of my father’s favorite sayings was, it’s not work if you love what you’re doing. So my father never worked a day in his life.”

In recent years the island has seen more small farms crop up, many on Hummock Pond Road with the support of the Land Bank and Sustainable Nantucket. Tom and Nick look forward to joining this community and carving out their own space.

“The goal is not to do what everybody else is doing so that we are not stepping on anybody’s toes,” said Tom. “We are friendly with all of the farmers at Sustainable, and I’ve known the Bartlett and Slosek families since I was little. We don’t want them to think we are out there trying to capitalize on what they’re doing. There is plenty of room for everyone, there are so many things you can grow!”

When developing their farm plan, the Larrabees followed in the footsteps of their forefathers, propelled by a desire to feed their neighbors.

Pearl and Cleo, farm dogs.

“We would like to go out to our customers and find out what they would like, and we can change it up every year as we rotate crops around,” said Tom. “That would be nice, to provide the community what they are asking for.”

As of now My Grandfather’s Farm sells fresh eggs from their chickens and have grown cut flowers for purchase this summer, but they have more plans moving forward. They are currently in the process of preparing two acres of blueberries where someday people will be able pick their own. They also look forward to maintaining a herd of goats that can be hired for goat-scaping, an increasingly popular option to mitigate weeds and landscape naturally.

There are still many unknowns for My Grandfather’s Farm, as agriculture is an endless practice of trial and error. But the Larrabees have embraced this process with open arms for generations.

“This is what I love, this is my passion, it’s not work to me because I love what I’m doing,” said Nick. “It’s a dream for me to be able to do this every day.”

Tom and Nick Larrabee, fourth and fifth generation island farmers on My Grandfather’s Farm

Photos by Dan LeMaitre