ALIVE AT THIS TRICENTENNIAL TREASURE. A FARM THAT’S OLDER THAN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SITS RIGHT OFF OF ROUTE 30 IN LANCASTER COUNTY, WHERE THOUSANDS PASS BY EVERY DAY. YEAH, I CAN REMEMBER WHEN ROUTE 30 WASN’T THERE. SO YEAH, IT’S CHANGED A LOT. 1800 AND I CAN’T READ THAT. BOB AND MARLENE MILLER, TWO BROTHERS, ARE NOW THE NINTH GENERATION TO KEEP THE MILLER FARM RUNNING THREE CENTURIES STRONG SINCE 1717, WHEN HANS AND JACOB BRUBAKER FIRST CAME OVER FROM GERMANY, THEY LEARNED THAT LAND WAS AVAILABLE HERE IN PENNSYLVANIA FROM WILLIAM PENN’S AGENTS HIMSELF. IT’S PART OF WHAT WAS TO BECOME EAST HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, THE MILLER NAME OFFICIALLY BROUGHT ON WHEN TOBIAS MILLER, BOB AND MARLIN’S GREAT GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER MARRIED THE BRUBAKER’S DAUGHTER, ELIZABETH. ONE OF THEIR SONS, ABRAHAM. LIVED HERE AND HE HAD 18 CHILDREN, AND ONE OF THEM WAS ISAAC MILLER. AND THEN HE HAD SEVEN SONS. THE YOUNGEST ONE WAS JOHN, AND THAT WAS MY AND MY BROTHER’S FATHER. AND SO HERE WE ARE. HISTORY. THE BOB AND MARLIN CARRY ON THE LEGACY OF THOSE THAT CAME BEFORE THEM AND ARE STILL HERE AT THE FAMILY CEMETERY ON THE PROPERTY. THE EARLIEST PERSON BURIED HERE WAS IN THE LATE 1700S. FEEL A LITTLE BIT OF RESPONSIBILITY TO HONOR THAT. THE FARM THAT ONCE HAD CATTLE AND GREW TOBACCO, CORN, CELERY AND MORE IS A PRESERVATION OF THEIR ANCESTRY AND THEIR ENTIRE LIVES. SO THIS IS A WAS MY DAD’S FIRST TRACTOR. MARLON NOW KEEPS A COLLECTION OF C1 WHAT’S YOUR C1 MARLON C1 C1 URBAN COMMUNITY, I GUESS YOU
9th-generation brothers preserve Pennsylvania’s oldest farm after 309 years
A Lancaster County farm, established in 1717, continues to thrive as the oldest farm in Pennsylvania, with two brothers preserving its legacy for future generations
A farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, predates the United States and stands as a testament to history and perseverance, operating for 309 years as the oldest farm in the state. Nine generations of running the farm Bob and Marlin Miller, the ninth generation of their family to run the farm, continue the legacy that began in 1717 when Hans and Jacob Brubaker emigrated from Germany. “They learned that land was available here in Pennsylvania from William Penn’s agents or himself,” Bob Miller said. Marlin Miller added, “It’s part of what was to become East Hempfield Township back in the early 1700s.” The Miller name became part of the farm’s history when Tobias Miller, Bob and Marlin’s great-great-great-grandfather, married Elizabeth Brubaker. “One of their sons, Abraham, lived here, and he had 18 children,” Bob Miller said. “One of them was Isaac Miller, and then he had seven sons. The youngest one was John, and that was mine and my brother’s father. And so here we are today.” Preservation of family ancestry The farm, which once supported cattle and grew crops like tobacco, corn, celery and more, now serves as a preservation of the family’s ancestry. A cemetery on the property holds the remains of family members dating back to the late 1700s. “We feel a little bit of a responsibility to honor that,” Bob Miller said. Marlin Miller maintains a collection of vintage tractors, all red, just like those used by his grandfather and father. “When I was 7, 8, 9 years old, watching my dad before I was old enough to safely operate tractors. I’d watch him in the fields plowing or cultivating,” Marlin Miller said. Marlin oversees the crops, planting soybeans and hay, while Bob keeps the property maintained. “It’s satisfaction to know that we go back that far. But, you know, they were the ones that persevered, and still we have to do what we can, what’s possible for us, to honor that,” Bob Miller said. No desire to sell the landDespite frequent offers from developers to sell the land, the brothers remain committed to preserving their 62 acres.”We’re always asked by developers to sell, but we like our little oasis in this urban community, I guess you would say, to keep doing what we’re doing,” Marlin Miller said. The Miller farm continues to thrive as a living piece of history in Lancaster County. They were awarded the first Tricentennial Farm Award by the PA Department of Agriculture in 2019. Video below: Ninth generation keeps PA’s oldest farm running
A farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, predates the United States and stands as a testament to history and perseverance, operating for 309 years as the oldest farm in the state.
Nine generations of running the farm
Bob and Marlin Miller, the ninth generation of their family to run the farm, continue the legacy that began in 1717 when Hans and Jacob Brubaker emigrated from Germany.
“They learned that land was available here in Pennsylvania from William Penn’s agents or himself,” Bob Miller said.
Marlin Miller added, “It’s part of what was to become East Hempfield Township back in the early 1700s.”
The Miller name became part of the farm’s history when Tobias Miller, Bob and Marlin’s great-great-great-grandfather, married Elizabeth Brubaker.
“One of their sons, Abraham, lived here, and he had 18 children,” Bob Miller said. “One of them was Isaac Miller, and then he had seven sons. The youngest one was John, and that was mine and my brother’s father. And so here we are today.”
Preservation of family ancestry
The farm, which once supported cattle and grew crops like tobacco, corn, celery and more, now serves as a preservation of the family’s ancestry. A cemetery on the property holds the remains of family members dating back to the late 1700s.
“We feel a little bit of a responsibility to honor that,” Bob Miller said.
Marlin Miller maintains a collection of vintage tractors, all red, just like those used by his grandfather and father.
“When I was 7, 8, 9 years old, watching my dad before I was old enough to safely operate tractors. I’d watch him in the fields plowing or cultivating,” Marlin Miller said.
Marlin oversees the crops, planting soybeans and hay, while Bob keeps the property maintained.
“It’s satisfaction to know that we go back that far. But, you know, they were the ones that persevered, and still we have to do what we can, what’s possible for us, to honor that,” Bob Miller said.
No desire to sell the land
Despite frequent offers from developers to sell the land, the brothers remain committed to preserving their 62 acres.
“We’re always asked by developers to sell, but we like our little oasis in this urban community, I guess you would say, to keep doing what we’re doing,” Marlin Miller said.
The Miller farm continues to thrive as a living piece of history in Lancaster County. They were awarded the first Tricentennial Farm Award by the PA Department of Agriculture in 2019.
Video below: Ninth generation keeps PA’s oldest farm running
