Wellington Farm, USA is a 60-acre open-air interpretive museum designed to provide an educational opportunity for visitors to experience life as it was in rural mid-America during the Great Depression.
This unique museum honors the nation’s heritage by providing visitors with the chance to experience history first hand. The farm includes a Blacksmith Shop, Grist Mill, Carpenter Shop, Saw Mill, Machine Shed, Barnyard and Farmstead Summer Kitchen. A visitor’s center and general store offer a variety of goods available for purchase.
Admission to the park is $7.50 for adults, and $5.50 for students and senior citizens, and is open on the weekends from Memorial Day through the middle of June; after that it will be open daily 10am-5pm. Guided tours with historic interpreters are available on the weekends, during festivals, or by appointment for groups. Visit the Wellington Farm, USA website for a schedule of special events.
Wellington Farm Park also conducts a complete program of environmental education, displaying to park visitors the importance of taking care of the land, water, forests and natural resources. Demonstration plots and displays have been developed with the assistance of such organizations as the Soil Conservation Service, the Michigan Timbermen’s Association and the Michigan Association of Foresters.
Wellington was a farming community located in the southwest corner of Crawford County. It existed officially from 1881 until 1918, that being the period of time that the post office was in operation. The Wellington Post Office had possibly eight different sites, and Wellington Farm Park is located near one. The post office would have been stationed in the home of the local postmaster, and when the postmaster moved or was replaced, the post office’s location would have changed also. One of the very early settlers was Wellington Batterson. He homesteaded in the area in 1878 and in 1879, when Crawford County was organized, he assumed the duty of Judge. He was later elected Judge of Probate, a title which he held for many years. It is likely that the post office and the community were named for Judge Batterson. In 1910, Judge Batterson was instrumental in a publication designed to stimulate interest in farming in Crawford County. It was hoped that this publication would entice immigrants to come to the area and take up farming. The most profitable cash crops at the time seemed to be clover seed and potatoes. In 1918 the duties of the Wellington Post Office were taken over by Grayling and slowly the community began to disappear. A few of the old homes and farm buildings still exist in the area, but most of what was once a bustling farming community is now gone.
Located on Military Road between Camp Grayling and Higgins Lake, it is convenient to both I-75 and the U.S. 127 expressways. Wellington Farm Park is operated by Wellington Farm Park, Inc., a non-profit corporation. It is governed by a Citizens Advisory Board of Directors. A volunteer organization, the Wellington Farm Folk assist in the day to day operation of the park.
Wellington Farm Park 6940 S. Military Rd. Grayling, MI 49738 (989)348-5187
