The Queens CountyFarm Museum, also known as Queens Farm, is a historic farm located on of the neighborhoods of Floral Park and Glen Oaks in Queens, New York City. The farm occupies the city's largest remaining tract of undisturbed farmland, and is still a working farm today. The site features restored farm buildings from three different centuries, a greenhouse, planting fields, livestock, and various examples of vintage farm equipment. Queens Farm practices sustainable agriculture and has a four-season growing program. The museum includes the Adriance Farmhouse, a New York City Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places. Free guided tours of the farmhouse are offered to the public Saturdays and Sundays year-round. Hayrides are offered on weekends from April through October. An on-site seasonal farmstand featuring Queens Farm vegetables, herbs, and flowers takes place every Wednesday through Sunday from May through October.
Cornell Farmhouse
The Cornell Farmhouse was built in 1750 with Dutch and English architectural features. The Farmhouse is also known as the Creedmoor Farmhouse Complex or the Adriance Farmhouse. It is part of the museum and is owned and operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. It was listed as a New York City Landmark in 1976, and on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
History
The farm was privately owned by a Dutch family, the Adriances, from 1697 to 1808. Their three-room farmhouse, built in 1772, has been restored and still stands. After 1808, a series of families owned the farm as it continued to evolve from a colonial homestead to a modern "truck farming" or market gardening business. Under its last private farmer, Daniel Stattel, it became, by 1900, "the second largest in size in Queens County and the highest in dollar value...assessed at 32,000 dollars." In 1926, the Stattels sold the farm to real estate investor Pauline Reisman, who, in turn, later that year sold it to Creedmoor State Hospital, which used it for occupational therapy, to stock its kitchen, and to grow ornamental plants for the rest of the hospital campus. In 1975, state legislation authored by Frank Padavan transferred ownership of the farm from the hospital to NYC Parks for the purpose of starting a museum.
