New Hampshire Community Loan Fund

Tellman Hill Farm: Transforming a Historic Whitefield Farm into a Destination Apple Orchard

October 1, 2026

Petites entreprises, Alimentation locale

Red and green apples were stacked in crates, gluten-free cider donuts were cooking in the kitchen, and the slushy machine was churning frozen cider by the cash register. Kids and other customers set their sights on what was ripe this classic fall day at Tellman Hill Farm in Whitefield, N.H. where 1,100 trees produce more than 50 varieties of apples.

For Tellman Hill Farm owners Emily Meacham and Doug Morin, opening the store and orchard to the public on September 4 was a big milestone along their path to making their Whitefield farm sustainable.

Synopsis:

Emily Meacham and Doug Morin took a leap when they purchased a historic 187-acre farm in Whitefield, N.H., planting hundreds of apple trees with a vision of creating a pick-your-own orchard and sustainable farm business.
With financing from the Community Loan Fund, a USDA grant, and support from their community, they built a new farm store, commercial kitchen, cider production space, and cold storage to help turn that vision into a reality.
Today, Tellman Hill welcomes families and visitors to the farm to pick apples, enjoy gluten-free cider donuts and fresh cider, and experience a new chapter in the life of a historic North Country farm.

Growing up in upstate New York, Emily was well-connected with local farms and food.

“I grew up in a farming family, and so I've always wanted to come back to farming,” she said. “I didn't have family farmland to come back to.”

She worked on many different farms, including an apple orchard, as she pursued a career as a licensed forester. Still, she kept searching for her own land to farm.

It took her more than a decade to find the right place and during her search, she also found Doug, who was working as a wildlife biologist in Vermont.

“Both Doug and I grew up going to cider mills and apple orchards and really love fall,” she said. “We also saw a need for apples in this particular region.”

The couple felt lucky when they found their 187-acre property in the White Mountains Region of New Hampshire at an affordable price.

The Tellman family previously purchased the land and put a conservation easement on it to limit development, substantially reducing the price, and were looking for new owners to farm it.

“We needed to really scale up our imagination because it was a larger property that held a lot more potential than we thought we were going to find,” Doug said. “We were surprised the nearest pick-your-own orchard is probably more than an hour away from here, so we thought there was an opportunity in the market…”

Their next step was a big gamble.

“As soon as we purchased the property in summer of 2019, we ordered 500 apple trees and said, ‘We don't know exactly where these are going to go, but we'll figure it out in two years by the time they get here,’” Doug said.

Growing up in upstate New York, Emily was well-connected with local farms and food.

“I grew up in a farming family, and so I've always wanted to come back to farming,” she said. “I didn't have family farmland to come back to.”

She worked on many different farms, including an apple orchard, as she pursued a career as a licensed forester. Still, she kept searching for her own land to farm.

It took her more than a decade to find the right place and during her search, she also found Doug, who was working as a wildlife biologist in Vermont.

“Both Doug and I grew up going to cider mills and apple orchards and really love fall,” she said. “We also saw a need for apples in this particular region.”

The couple felt lucky when they found their 187-acre property in the White Mountains Region of New Hampshire at an affordable price.

The Tellman family previously purchased the land and put a conservation easement on it to limit development, substantially reducing the price, and were looking for new owners to farm it.

Their next step was a big gamble.

Tellman Hill Farm: Transforming a Historic Whitefield Farm into a Destination Apple Orchard

How to Start a Farm

How to Start a Farm

An Apple Orchard Grows in Whitefield

The Next Chapter for a Historic Farm

Numbers That Tell the Story

300

1,000

3,500

60%

6.6%

106

Tellman Hill Farm at a glance