When the Callan family first began farming their land on Everett Road in Holmdel it was a prosperous way of life. At that time, the late 1800’s, the landscape was farmland for as far as the eye could see.
The history of the land runs deep at this 12-acre farm. The Callan’s fondly remember the generations of their family that were born in the farm house that still stands at 153 Everett Road. A collection of arrowheads is prominently featured in the home to this day as a fascinating reminder of the Lenape history of the area. In fact, Everett Road, now a well-travelled thoroughfare, began as a Lenape Indian trail. The family has found multitudes of clam and oyster shells once gathered by Native Americans at the shore to be enjoyed along the trail and then tossed into the soil that would one day become the fertile farm fields of the Callan homestead, once known as Tare Away Farm.
However, the history of the farm is an increasingly distant part of the past now that the majority of farms in Holmdel have long since turned into residential or commercial developments. After WWII, one farm after another disappeared from the landscape to make way for streets, neighborhoods, and stores. Yet, this will not be the fate of the Callan Family Farm. Standing like a last remembrance of the areas agrarian past, the Callan’s knew they could never bear to see the land turn into another housing development and made the decision to permanently protect the land from development.
Margie and George Callan contacted Monmouth Conservation Foundation (MCF) to inquire about preserving the farm. After many wonderful years of living on the farm, their wish was to see it preserved. After Margie’s passing in 2017, it became more important than ever to ensure the farm remained forever as a legacy to the Callan Family. That’s when MCF stepped in to bring the vision of preservation to reality by engaging funding partners and managing the due diligence work involved.
On August 2, 2018, Monmouth County permanently preserved the Callan propertyensuring the land will always remain as a farm. Monmouth Conservation Foundation provided technical assistance to facilitate the preservation of the land, while Holmdel Township, The Friends of Holmdel Open Space, and the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) were financial partners with Monmouth County on the preservation purchase.