Patterson Farm Master Plan

Lower Makefield Township Board of Supervisors voted to have Seiler + Drury create a Master Plan to guide the Community regarding decisions on use, repairs, restorations, and investments of the property.

The Patterson Farm Master Plan was completed in December of 2023.
You can view the completed Master Plan at: https://lmtpd-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/jimm_lmt_org/EhY9xIYZhgZIgHT3XldUib4Bvqb6amkewEAqrypqdyzzRA?e=XsEodZ

While the Master Plan will be developed by a professional firm skilled in these matters, the Township and the Ad Hoc Property Committee are dedicated to seeking input from the community at large and will provide opportunities for comment and input into this process.

David Kratzer, Township Manager said, "This property needs significant investment by the Township and the community to achieve this vision, so a critical step right now is to have rich and informed community input and dialog on these proposals."

"The AHPC was formed because Patterson Farm is now at a crossroads. While the land is being farmed for local produce and other crops, the historic buildings have reached a condition where they must either be invested in and saved or the status quo will see them become non-viable," added Dennis Steadman. "We hope residents will come and help us decide the future for this important historical and beautiful agricultural site."

Patterson Farm is a 234-acre township-owned property located between I-295 and Mirror Lake Road – a key entrance to the township from the interstate. It is one of the most photographed sites of Lower Makefield.

Lower Makefield Township paid $7.2 million in 1998 to purchase the land as open space from Tom and Alice Patterson. A year later a Bucks County Municipal Open Space easement was granted on 71 acres of the site. In 2004 PennDOT condemned 7.57 acres of the farm for construction of the I-95/332 off-ramp. The Board of Supervisors voted in October 2016 to grant an agricultural conservation easement to Bucks County over additional lands, for a total of 183 acres of preserved farmland. Currently Sam Stewart of Charlann Farms tills 173 acres of farmland under a lease with the township.

Patterson Farm includes the historic Janney-Brown Farmstead that contains a Georgian-style stone house, stone/frame cottage, bank barn and 6 outbuildings. The non-profit Artists of Yardley (AOY), an art center that has over 300 artists in a full spectrum of disciplines, leases the stone house from the township and offers art classes, camps, exhibits and shows.

Patterson Farm also includes the 5.6-acre Satterthwaite Farmstead that contains a Federal-style frame house, bank barn and 4 outbuildings. A portion of this parcel is used for mulching leaves that are collected by the township.

For a brief history of the Patterson Farm, visit:
https://arcg.is/11OePa0