FARM AND LAND
Generational business continues to grow Story and photos by Sally Scholle
| The land that Frysville Farms sits on is rich in history, legends and strong values passed
down through generations. like many families, the Frys have traced their heritage as far back as possible to get a glimpse of what life was like for their forebears.
was water-powered.” Morton recalls that the story passed down through the years is that the vertical saw was so slow that workers could place a log on the carriage, then go inside to eat a meal while the saw made one pass. The workers would return, turn the log on the other side, then go to the barn to milk cows. The family added a distillery to make rye whiskey, and continued operating the mills through the 1800s. Eventually, those operations were discontinued and the farm became a dairy and poultry operation. Fortunately, several family members had the foresight to preserve some of the past elements, including log books from the mill. The old log books, which had been stored in old lard tins in the attic, detail every transaction at the sawmill, gristmill and distillery between 1799 and 1910.
The multi-generational Fry family works together to maintain a thriving and growing greenhouse and nursery business in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
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Those log books, along with a family member’s law book, as well as books printed at the nearby Ephrata Cloister, fill old bookcases in the office area. Morton and his wife Beckie came to the farm in 1955 and continued operating the farm until they decided to convert the farm to a nursery and greenhouse business. The farm includes 215 acres; ten of which are used for outdoor growing. “We built our first greenhouses in 1968,” says Morton. “Today, the business revolves around a retail and wholesale greenhouse operation. We market annuals and perennials to about 200 retail outlets in five states,” he says. “Our primary outlets are garden centers and florists. We grow 80,000 poinsettias, over one million annuals and 30,000 hanging baskets every year.”
Top: The Frys grow bedding plants, such as these pansies, which are distributed to garden centers and sold on-site. Bottom: The original stone building on the Frysville Farms property was once home to a sawmill, a gristmill and a distillery. The building has been carefully preserved. Today, it houses the company’s offices.
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Morton Fry is the seventh generation to live and work on the Lancaster County farm, and is proud to have his children and grandchildren taking over major roles in the family owned and operated greenhouse and nursery business. Morton explains that the family traces back to immigrants who arrived in 1738. Morton says that two men— Hans Martin Fry, born in 1722 and his son John Martin Fry, born in 1751—settled about three miles from the current location of Frysville Farms in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. “After having returned from participating in six battles of The Revolutionary War, John Martin and his father Hans Martin bought this property in 1783,” says Morton. “They first built a grist mill to make flour, then a sawmill. The original sawmill, built prior to the American Revolution,