Rock Haven Maple Farm

Photo by Albert Mach
Between 1822 and1824 Almond Abner Jenkins, worked to construct a log cabin as a home for his family. The original cabin consisted on 2 rooms (1 room upstairs and a room downstairs) with a lean-to on the north side for horses. Almond died in 1872 in which the cabin was passed down to his grandson, Henry J Jenkins. Somewhere around 1876 or 1878 an additional kitchen and upstairs bedroom were added as well as a double fireplace to accommodate heating the bath, kitchen, and living area.
In the early 1920’s the main house was built. The downstairs consisted of a kitchen and living area, while the upstairs included a bedroom and a porch on the north side. In later years, a porch was added on the east side and three bedrooms and a living room were added to replace the porch on the north side of the house. The original spring house still exists on the property and has water flowing into it. The root cellar was replaced with a cellar house in the 1930 – 1940’s. The cellar house is currently used as a cellar in the bottom, housing all of the owners home-grown canned food products. Above the cellar there is a loft, which was turned into a sewing room and guest house. The property also contains a meat house that originally served as the wash house. They now use the meat house in hunting season to butcher wild game. The property also has a barn, orchard, and a pond.
In 2003 the current owners remodeled the house to make it their permanent residence. They made the home modern with two bedrooms, a living room, family room, dining room, modern kitchen, and two full bathrooms. The upstairs bedroom still has original wood from the house and wood that was cut on the property. While the house may boast modern conveniences, the owners have tried to keep the historical charm of the house by filling it with antiques of many varieties. Some of the treasures have been in the family for years.
In the 1920’s the “sugar camp” was started by the owner’s grandfather, William Whetzel. Parts of the building that the maple syrup is made are still original. In 2004, the owners added on to the existing building and formed Rock Have Maple Sugar Camp. Currently they run the most modern maple syrup production in the area. Lee does the majority of the work and sells his syrup all over the country and the world.
Open courtesy of Lee and Cathy Barb
Directions: From Mathias, on Route 259, turn onto the Upper Cove Road. Go 2.7 miles and the turn left onto Basore Road. Go about .8 miles and then turn right onto Orchard Road, the house is at the end of the lane.