History of the House and Farm
The 56 acre Velvet Pastures Elk Ranch is nestled at the base of Wednesday Hill in Lee, New Hampshire. The house and original barn (now a garage) date from between 1780 and 1790. The large (40 x 72 feet) barn is younger, probably built about 1835. For more than forty years (1835 to 1878), the property served as the Town Farm, caring for the indigent and homeless of Lee until they could get back on their own. It reverted to private ownership in 1878 and has been farmed primarily as a dairy operation until the establishment of the elk farm in 1999.

Much of its land historically has been open grassland, presumably for grazing and haying operations. The earliest available USGS topographic maps dating from 1896 and 1916 do not differentiate between forested and open land, but the 1918 map clearly shows open space. That was also the case from the 1941 and 1956 maps and is certainly the situation today where agricultural activities include haying and pasturing of our animals.