Brookwood Fruit Farm

 Working together as a family has always been the way at Brookwood Fruit Farm. Picture taken summer 1942.

 

 

270 years before there was Brookwood...

In 1640, at the age of 15, Henry Bristol was a stowaway aboard a ship of emmigrants from England traveling to Colonial America. After landing at the newly founded New Haven, Connecticut Colony, he spent 6 years as an indentured servant to a cooper-smith. Henry grew up on a fruit farm in England, and once in America, he continued to grow tree fruits as well as cooper-smithing. In 1656 Henry married Lydia Brown, had 11 children together, and the Bristol family spent the next nearly 175 years farming in Connecticut.

 

Henry’s great-great-grandson, Bezaleel Bristol III, was a Captain in the Connecticut Militia, and received for his service in the American Revolution an 80 acre land grant given by Register of Deeds (and later President of the United States) Andrew Jackson. Bezaleel’s son was then given the land grant, and by 1827 the family traveled by covered wagon to Detroit in the Michigan Territory, still 10 years before becoming a state. After arriving in Detroit, the family resupplied before taking two weeks blazing a trail 40 miles north to the area now known as Almont. The Bristols were the second settlers in the area, and once there, continued to farm tree fruits, vegetables, and livestock.

 

 

The beginning of Brookwood...

In 1910, William Howard Bristol purchased an adjacent property to his home farm that that would become Brookwood Fruit Farm. The farm consisted of fruit trees, woods, and a brook that runs through the woods, hence the name Brookwood Fruit Farm.

 

William Howard Bristol at his home, circa 1920's

 

 

 

Brookwood splits off on its own in order to expand...

William Howard sold the farm in the 1930's to his son Willitto Kelsey (WK) Bristol. WK grew the farm into a much larger scale fruit farm that specialized in wholesaleing high quality apples, cherries, and peaches, as well as other fruits, vegetables, and livestock.

 

WK Bristol on his graduation day from Michigan Agricultural College (present day Michigan State University)

 

 

 

Brookwood drops livestock and vegetables in order to focus on fruit...

By the mid 1960's, the farm was passed on to WK's son, William James (Bill) Bristol, where he left the vegetable and livestock markets to solely focus on growing the highest quality fruit for the wholesale market.

 

 Bill Bristol with the workings of the two-story clock that is on the outer wall of the apple storage.

 

 

 

Brookwood switches from wholesale to retail...

Then in 1988, Bill's son Charles William (Chuck) Bristol took over the farm, and shifted the focus of the farm out of the wholesale business and into the retail market.

 

Today, Chuck and his youngest son, William Kelsey (Will) Bristol, own and operate the farm, striving everyday to produce the highest quality tree fruit.

 

We are a family farm that takes pride in offering our guests quality fruit and a memorable experience.  Come and join us to see what has made Brookwood Fruit Farm unique for over 100 years.

 

Charles Bristol, his wife Ann, and their five sons Jake, Will, Jon, Jeff, and Josh.

 

 

 

 

 

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