Administrative History

The property of the St. Francis Farm Community, which was comprised of 180 acres, was first purchased in 1977 by Father Ray McVey, the founder of the adjoining Catholic Worker site, Unity Acres. Between 1977 and 2001, the property housed a series of missions, including housing and shelter initiatives and a medical clinic. In 2001, the Hoyt family (mother Lorraine, daughter Joanna, and son Zachary) assumed central responsibility for the daily function of the St. Francis Farm Community. The community was incorporated as a non-profit in 2003. In the next two decades, the community shifted focus to be a self-sustaining resource that provided support to the local community. In 2022, Lorraine, Joanna, and Zachary Hoyt left the St. Francis Farm Community in order to pursue individual career paths, and the remaining directors of the non-profit, Jill Hurst-Wahl and Sarah VanNorstrand, and the community at large were unable to find more core members to carry out the mission of the farm. As a result, the non-profit was dissolved, and all of the community's remaining assets were transferred to the Refugee & Immigrant Self-Empowerment non-profit located in Syracuse, New York.

Scope & Content 

This collection is comprised of paper documents in paper folders and electronic records in electronic folders (ER-#). While the physical records are dated from the 1990's to 2021, the electronic records were all created in 2001 or after, once the Hoyt family joined the community. Please note that because of the nature of the collection, when researching certain topics, one may need to cross-reference with other folders:

• Photographs from Screen Free Week, found in both the Photographs electronic record folder (ER-9) and the Outreach electronic record folder (ER-8)
• Stop and Think high school programming found in both Outreach electronic record folder (ER-8) and Stop and Think Display in local high school folder (Box 3, Folder 16)

The contents of four electronic folders was restricted at the request of the donor for a period of 10 years, until 2032. These folders are marked as such below.

 

Series	Box	Folder	Folder Title
W-90	1	1	Accounts of the farm, pre-1990s
W-90	1	2	Andrew's Group, Ithaca and Cornell, 2014
W-90	1	3	Brochures, undated
W-90	-	ER-1	Brochures and mission statements, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2015, undated
W-90	1	4	Community notes, pre-2001
W-90	-	-	Correspondence,
W-90	1	5	pre-Hoyts, 1994-2001
W-90	1	6	2001
W-90	1	7	2002
W-90	1	8	2003
W-90	1	9	2004
W-90	1	10	2005
W-90	1	11	2006
W-90	1	12	2007
W-90	1	13	2008
W-90	2	1	2009
W-90	2	2	2010
W-90	2	3	2011
W-90	2	4	2012
W-90	2	5	2013
W-90	2	6	2014
W-90	2	7	2015
W-90	2	8	2016
W-90	2	9	2017
W-90	2	10	2018
W-90	2	11	2019
W-90	2	12	2020
W-90	2	13	2021
W-90	-	ER-2	2001, 2014- 2022
W-90	-	ER-3	Dissolution documents, 2022
W-90	2	14	Donations, pre-2001
W-90	2	15	Family days, 2011-2012
W-90	-	ER-4	Finance reports, 2001- 2021
W-90	-	-	Group visits,
W-90	3	1	pre-2001
W-90	3	2	2002
W-90	3	3	2003
W-90	3	4	2004
W-90	3	5	2005
W-90	3	6	2006
W-90	3	7	2007
W-90	3	8	2010
W-90	3	9	Growing Season Summer Program, 2006-2011
W-90	-	ER-5	Incorporation documents and bylaws, 2003- 2006
W-90	-	ER-6	Lorraine's log, 2001- 2005
W-90	3	10	Miscellaneous history
W-90	3	11	News clippings 1993-2011
W-90	3	12	Newsletters, pre-Hoyts, 1990s-2001
W-90	-	ER-7	Operational & general information, 2001- 2013, 2015- 2016
W-90	-	ER-8	Outreach, 2003- 2008, 2016- 2019, 2022, undated
W-90	3	13	People interested in joining community, 1999-2001
W-90	4	1-2	Photograph album 1
W-90	4	3-4	Photograph album 2
W-90	-	ER-9	Photographs,
W-90	-	-	Activities with Springbrook seniors, 2019- 2021
W-90	-	-	Agriculture, 2005- 2018, 2020- 2021
W-90	-	-	Crafts for refugees, made for Interfaith Works Center for New Americans
W-90	-	-	Farm Buildings
W-90	-	-	Groups composite
W-90	-	-	Hoyts
W-90	-	-	Kids photos
W-90	-	-	Maintenance
W-90	-	-	Migrant Workers
W-90	-	-	Miscellaneous (Wheelchair ramp, Christmas)
W-90	-	-	Nature
W-90	-	-	Padre's Garden
W-90	-	-	Pole barn replacement
W-90	-	-	Pre-2001, undated
W-90	-	-	Screen-free week photos
W-90	-	-	Toy making with families
W-90	-	-	Visitors
W-90	-	-	Wood work
W-90	-	-	Notes to picture files
W-90	3	14	Planning and Outreach by Fr. Ted Sizing, 1990s
W-90		ER-15	Respite program with Catholic Charities, 2004-2005 RESTRICTED until 2032
W-90	-	ER-10	Service learning groups, 2005-2007, 2009-2010, 2014, undated
W-90	-	ER-11	SFFC attempts to find new community members, 2020- 2021
W-90	-	ER-12	SFFC attempts to find successor org to hold land, 2020- 2021 RESTRICTED until 2032
W-90	-	ER-13	SFFC Board 2004- 2021 RESTRICTED until 2032
W-90	3	15	Simplicity Circle, Spring 2013
W-90	3	16	Stop and Think Display in local high school, 2007-2008
W-90	3	17	Spanish Apostolate - Migrant Workers, undated
W-90	3	18	Trailer Archives, 1998-2003
W-90	-	ER-14	Unity Acres, 2002, 2005- 2009, 2012 RESTRICTED until 2032