On Friday, April 21, 2023, Patrick Owen McCarthy died peacefully in the company of friends and relatives at home in Eagan, MN.  Patrick was the last of four unmarried brothers of Michael and Rose McCarthy.  He was also the last of four generations of their McCarthy line in Minnesota.  His great grandparents secured the deed to their homestead from General Henry Hastings Sibley in the 1850s.  General Sibley was the territorial governor at the time and later the first governor of the new state of Minnesota.

In his will, Patrick made it clear that he did not wish to see his family's 134 acre farm be developed.  Rather, he wished to see it preserved and continue operating as a living farm.  To that end, he hand-picked a six-person Board of Directors consisting of skilled and caring individuals he knew and worked with in Eagan for the better part of 25 years.

During the months of September through November, 2023, the farm made its way through Probate Court in Dakota County. It witnessed one appeal -- from a distant relation who had been residing in Utah.  On November 7th, 2023, the judge ruled that the will that Patrick drafted and signed would prevail against any competing claims. 

At present, the Board is in the process of acting to complete the establishment of the organization that Patrick wanted set up and to preserve the farm for near-term farming and conservation-based activities. It will publish information about upcoming volunteer opportunities.  These will permit friends and neighbors of the farm to contribute to the farm's on-going health and longevity.  See the pages that follow for more information on the McCarthys, their historic farm, its board, and its on-going activities..

We hope that you can engage with the farm and its mission in the months and years to come.