50 Years of Growth – July ’25

View of the farmhouse in 1975 (left) and 2025 (right) looking in a southeasterly direction. The house was more than doubled in 1855. Photo by John DeStefan (left) and Queens County Farm Museum (right).

In 1973, the State of New York announced plans to sell off surplus land—among them, 47½ acres in eastern Queens once used as a hospital farm by Creedmoor Psychiatric Center. Farming had ceased in 1960, and the land was at risk of being sold to developers. Zoned without height restrictions, the site could have faced the same fate as nearby Glen Oaks Golf Course, which gave rise to three 32-story towers—an outcome the community vowed never to repeat.

Galvanized by this threat, local preservationists led by founder James Trent established the Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of Bellerose, Inc. On July 4, 1975, they opened the Queens County Farm Museum—reclaiming the site’s agricultural legacy and setting the stage for a bold experiment in urban preservation.

Support from elected officials, including State Senator Frank Padavan, proved critical. Padavan authored the legislation that transferred the land from New York State to the City of New York and placed it under the care of the Department of Parks—permanently protecting it from development.

Today, Queens County Farm Museum is a New York City Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the most visited farm museum in the United States, drawing more than 500,000 visitors annually. Its landmarked buildings—from the 1772 Adriance Farmhouse to 1930s-era barns, coops, and sheds—stand as living reminders of New York City’s agrarian past and the power of civic action.