Praise for Saving the Farm; A Journey through Time, Place, and Redemption

Jim Powers's Saving the Farm is local history as it should be written.  This is  an account of the efforts of a dedicated troop of amateur historians to  bring  to alive life as it was lived on one of Connecticut's typical farms.   Powers  does this by telling the story of the reconstruction of a house and barn  in  North Guilford.    The Readers' interest in consistently held through descriptive  chapters interspersed with contemporaneous documents and flashbacks to the to the late 17th century beginnings of the Dudley family in New England.  The  activities of individual members of the family are sketched in detail and  provided with context and explanations of all the techniques and requirements of  agriculture and associated work such as water mill construction and  tanning,  Powers's book is charmingly written, interestingly constructed and  most informative. There is no better way to gain a full and detailed picture of  life on the 19th-century Connecticut farm than reading this fascinating book  and  paying a visit to the Dudley farm. 
     
Christopher Collier, Professor of History, University of Connecticut and State Historian Emeritus


Jim Powers' book about the celebrated Dudley Farm of North Guilford’s is a magnus opus. Few local histories have examined and interpreted one farm in such an absorbing manner. Above all,  Jim’s detailed account can serve as a road map for effecting good preservation of  historic structures and properties. The greater preservation community can learn much from the example of the Dudley Foundation, which galvanized volunteer
forces to establish a unique educational museum. 
                                                           
Joel Helander,  Municipal historian, Town of  Guilford

 
Saving the Farm tells the story of the Dudley Farm in North Guilford Connecticut, from its raw beginnings in the 18th century to its reclamation in the 21st.  But it is more than an important historical record.  Few have captured better the hard work, persistence,  and ingenuity needed to connect past and present.  The parallels between the storied Dudley family and the modern preservationists demonstrate clearly the continuing need to band together to overcome challenges.

Eric D. Lehman, author of Bridgeport: Tales from the Park City