Family & Farm - Our Legacy
In 1918, our grandpa, Herbert Nugent purchased the northwest 40 acres of Nugent Orchards. At that time, the property had only a few acres of apples. Before working the farm, Herbert tried his hand at factory work in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. While there, he met his wife Elmira Olson, started their family and decided to move back to Michigan.
Herbert later purchased the adjacent 60-acre house and farm to the east of his property. Grandpa and Grandma and their three children: Betty, Imogene, and Harry worked the farm together. As a young man, Harry purchased the property from his parents and continued to farm the cherries and apples, along with a few vegetables.
Harry married Kathryn Joy in August 1960. In the span of five years, he and “Kit” had five children: John, Brian, Scott, and twins, Pete & Carol. They created a warm and loving home where everyone was always welcomed with coffee and homemade desserts. They expanded the cherry and apple production, and hired auto worker families on summer vacation to pick cherries. This type of thinking led Harry to more innovative ways of farm production – planting apple trees closer together, and building greenhouses for earlier season sweet cherries. Harry’s willingness to share his knowledge with others has left a lasting impression. Upon Kit and Harry’s passing, they left a great farm, a lot of fond memories, and a legacy to live up to.
We decided to keep farming and like dad, looked for other ways to utilize the family farm. In the fall, we offer a U-Pick Farm Market with apples, pumpkins, a corn maze, fresh baked donuts and cookies, and wagon rides through the orchards and hardwoods. A new opportunity of offering a venue for weddings and special events was created in 2019 with The Cherry Barn Event Venue. And in our hardwoods, we offer the Woodland North Glampground for the public to take advantage of the natural beauty we were blessed with.
Nugent Orchards continues commercial apple production, along with providing opportunities for the public to enjoy our farm.