By Kris McGinn, Cricket Features Editor
Essex needed a grocery market. It had been talked about, wished for, and a bit of a burr in the saddle of locals for some time. But even I underestimated the sheer joy of putting eggs, milk, some amazing fresh veggies, and a killer bottle of wine in my basket (not to mention the little cedar kindling bundles that make our fires smell amazing) and being IN ESSEX.
The Marshview Farm General Store opened its’ doors just weeks ago. And everyone seems to be rather pleased.
The Farm
On a lovely warm evening this past October I attended an event at a farm I had just heard of, though, I would learn, was not new. The directions, off of Argilla Road in Ipswich, near the Crane Estate, led to a side street that wound back past a handful of homes and opened up into what felt like a beautiful secret – but a BIG secret.
Sitting on some 500 acres was the impossibly bucolic Marshview Farm. On this particular evening, a small hip folksy band was playing outside a stunning mid 20th Century barn. People were wandering in and around holding dishes for the event of the evening, a farm potluck. Long tables were set with flowers, children danced and ran around. Inside the barn people placed their dishes along a table that ran the entire length of the enormous center aisle which ended up looking like the world’s greatest family feast, which in many ways it was, celebrating the farm community — those that grow the food, and those that participate in the farm’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share.
Marshview Farm was purchased in 2016 by Tami Paumier and Glen Warren, longtime Manchester residents, who were inspired to return the land to its roots, so to speak, as a working farm which it had been since as far back as the early 1700s and all the way into the early 1900s. Glen and Tami were keen to make something of the land, and also protect it from development; the property includes woodlands, fertile fields, tidal marshes, and freshwater ponds.
Under the care of Glen and Tami the land has not only been protected but has been responsibly cultivated utilizing regenerative sustainable farming practices; crop rotation, the use of cover crops, cattle that graze, hogs that root in the woods, a mobile chicken coop, honey bees to pollinate, natural fertilizer, and zero pesticides, yielding environmentally ethical local produce, eggs, and meat.
The Farmer
As the farm potluck wound down and folks were considering a second trip to the dessert table, a sun-soaked gentleman, who looked a bit like Gene Wilder in his younger years, complete with happy mischief and chaotic locks, stood to speak. He was warm, grateful, and full of joy. This was Jamie, the farmer at Marshview.
Jamie Barrett grew up spending summers on Cape Cod. His career in farming began with an internship at Appleton Farm in Ipswich where he studied and farmed for three years before running their CSA program for another five. He then moved to Charlottesville, Virginia where he and his growing family lived and worked for nine years. Until he saw a job posting.
When I met with Marshview owners Tami and Glen, the answer to the question of how they found Jamie had a glint of kismet. When they posted the position looking for a local farmer and Jamie, currently farming in Virginia, applied it seemed as though it was a bit far-fetched, but then came the connection to Cape Cod, the work at Appleton, and the desire to move his family back to Massachusetts.
His skills as a farmer in combination with his understanding of exactly the soil composition of the very land Marshview resided on, made it impossibly perfect. And, as it turns out, the property had an existing house that, with a little renovation, would be perfect for Jamie, his wife Kelly, and their three children. Jamie was the farmer for Marshview, and Marshview was the farm for Jamie.
Jamie came on board in 2020 and that same year Marshview launched its CSA which has been growing steadily since, with around 220 families/individuals currently signed up for shares. I participated in it briefly for their short fall share. The pick-up spot was at the then yet to be opened general store where on Tuesdays between 4 and 6 p.m. you could pick up your share. I came at the tail end of the time slot when, with the joys of daylight savings, it was nearly dark. But there was Jamie, cheerfully standing behind what really looked like a farm stand, with rows of bins stuffed with all manner of beautiful produce.
The way it works is that you get to pick a certain number of items and sometimes one item of a certain thing, say shallots, is more than one item. He also handed me a carton of fresh eggs. I love this system. You get to see what you want and then just decide. There were so many options, to include some I was unfamiliar with like the green, leafy vegetable, “tat soi.” Days later I worked it into a ramen and it was outstanding.
Jamie quietly helped me select and gather my things (with a great tip on how to cook shishito peppers) all the while just kind of exuding pride. Which he should have because the produce was excellent. It is clear to me that while Glen and Tami are the driving force behind Marshview, Jamie is the soul.
The General Store
With the farm established and a robust CSA in place, Marshview began thinking about a general store that could not only offer the farm’s vegetables and meats to non-CSA members but that could also offer local purveyors a place for their goods as well.
When you step into the general store the first thing I imagine you might note is the spectacular view of the marsh. When Glen and Tami renovated the former Essex Wine Exchange, they took care to open the entire back and side of the space to the marsh in the form of banks of huge windows. Light pours in and the marsh sits just outside, in its quiet splendor.
While the market is still filling out and finding its way, the essentials are all there. Milk, eggs, produce, fresh bread, ice cream! Prepared foods from Grassy Roots, artisanal snacks and sweets, and a rather impressive wine selection, among other goodies. They have held the space in the back, which is open and has several large table, for something needed perhaps even more than the groceries themselves, a community gathering space.
I stopped by the first series of events to be held in the space – wreath making. Each day I was there, groups of friends and families sat and chatted while sifting through the array of earthy wreath making greenery. Jamie along with his wife and daughter were there. Holiday music was playing, and shoppers were milling about; it felt wonderful.
This is something Tami, Glen, and Jamie are watching carefully. They shared that they do not know quite yet what the space will be. They plan to wait and listen to the community.
Perhaps they will add a barista? Books? Not sure. But what I can tell you is that it will feel really good to be there. And it will likely be something our town needs. When speaking about farming Jamie kept using the word “harmony”. Harmony with the land, the animals, with each other. Perhaps this is why it all feels so good, the potluck, the veggie share, the store, the gathering – this ethos.
Whatever it is, I am glad it’s here. I think we all are. So stop by. Say hello. And enjoy this welcome new addition to Essex.
Marshview Farm General Store—91 Main Street, Essex— marshviewfarm.com
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