Laboring on the family farm was a way of life in the 1800s, but the Miller family has done it for six generations.
Miller Farms in Clinton was founded in 1840 by Antone Miller and has been in the family ever since.
“We?ve had to change directions a few times,” said 53-year-old Phil Miller, the son of the current owner, 72-year-old Joan Miller.
Beginning with timber, pigs and cows, the farm flourished until the timber was tapped, and the farm refocused on produce.
“We switched to tobacco and sweet potatoes in the late 1800s,” Phil Miller said.
“In the late 1970s, we started phasing out tobacco and stopped the sweet potatoes because they were too labor intensive and the kids were in school during harvest, so we didn’t have the help.”
Miller Farms only grows produce now, with favorites such as squash, greens, tomatoes and strawberries.
In 1965, the Millers opened a small farmers market to sell their goods and expanded it in 1983.
Phil Miller said the farm has always been 108 acres, but he also cultivates property rented from Cosca Regional Park.
“Nothing stays the same. The work is still as hard, it?s just a different type of work,” Phil Miller said.
He said he is thankful for modern benefits such as commercialized fertilizers, hybrid plants and steady employees that have kept the farm thriving.
Phil Miller said two of his four children have taken on roles in the market and are currently making plans to add a bakery and ice cream shop to the Miller Farms? attractions.
Though his children have shown less interest in field work, “it?s always been in the family. We?re not selling yet,” Phil Miller said optimistically.
Pick your own produce at Miller Farms
» 10140 Piscataway Road, Clinton
» Available now: collards and tomatoes
» 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
» For more information, call 301-297-9370.
