Sarah Jane Farmer: Providing a spiritual retreat

It should be no surprise that Sarah Jane Farmer (1847-1916) did something special during her lifetime.

Her father, Moses Gerrish Farmer (1820-1893) of Eliot, invented a fire alarm pull box, the design of which is still in use today. In 1847 he invented the first electric railway car. He was a transcendentalist, believing that his inventions were emanations from God, and, in this spirit, did not patent his inventions in his early years.

Best known for his work with electricity, Farmer had developed an electric light in 1858-1859 and illuminated his Cambridge, Mass., home with it in 1868, but was never able to develop a marketable product. He also is credited with working side by side with Thomas Edison.

Moses was serving as a professor of electrical science and a consultant to the U.S. Navy in Rhode Island when he and his daughter developed poor health and the family decided to return to Eliot in 1843. Moses became headmaster of Eliot Academy, and they named their newly built home “Bittersweet-in-the-Fields” because they felt “bitter” to leave their Rhode Island life behind, but “sweet” to be living in such a tranquil spot.

Sarah’s mother, Hannah Tobey Shapleigh Farmer (1823-1891) of Eliot, was a prominent philanthropist, involving herself with the abolitionist and feminist movements of the day. Their home was a way station on the underground railroad. Hannah founded Rosemary Cottage in 1888, a retreat in Eliot for unwed mothers and their children, serving families primarily from Boston. The cottage operated well into the early 20th century. The building was sold and converted to apartments.

Sarah Jane Farmer was the founder of what now is known as the Green Acre Bahai School in Eliot. It began as the Eliot Hotel, situated on a knoll above the Piscataqua River. She helped support the Eliot Hotel in 1890 with four other partners as a resort hotel. But the venture failed, and the hotel became a gathering place for members of all religions to discuss spiritual subjects. She is quoted on Maine Memory Network as saying that “I realized, too, how much more good would come from a summer vacation if instead of being burdened with the effort of finding amusement for leisure hours, one’s mind and soul could be refreshed by helpful thoughts.”

A corner of one of the fireplaces in the former Eliot Hotel was referred to as “Whittier’s corner.” John Greenleaf Whittier, one of the most popular American poets of the time, is reported to have said about the inn and surrounding property, “We have heard of ‘God’s Acres,’ but I call this Green Acre.” Thus Eliot Hotel was renamed Green Acre Inn. Whittier was a frequent visitor in the early 1890s, and is known to have written a poem about Farmer, which is available at www.mainememory.net.

Farmer invited people from all over the world to speak and attend gatherings, and the Green Acre Inn became world-famous as a center of peace and enlightenment. ‘Abdu’l-Baha, the world leader of the Bahai faith, was invited to visit Green Acre during his trip to North America in 1912. Farmer had visited ‘Abdu’l-Baha in Haifa, Palestine, when she and some other women sailed to the Mediterranean in 1900 aboard the SS Furst Bismark. Sarah had become a Bahai since her last visit with him. ‘Abdu’l-Baha gave a number of talks on religious subjects and the Bahai faith during his one-week stay at Green Acre.

The Green Acre Inn classes given by its many guests often were held “under the pines” in Eliot in the late 1800s and early 1900s. W.E.B. DuBois, founder of the NAACP, was one such individual, as well as Swami Vivekananda, Edward Everett Hale, Anagarika H. Dharmapala, Ralph Waldo Trine, Helen Campbell, Booker T. Washington, historian John Fiske and many other notables.

In 1887, Farmer revived the Eliot Library Association and organized two summer fetes. An invitation that can be viewed at Maine Memory Network states, “The Ladies of the Eliot Library Association hope it will meet the pleasure of yourself and friends to attend the MIDSUMMER FETE in aid of the Public Library of Eliot, Maine, August 14-15 from 10:30 a.m. to 9 o’clock p.m. Address at 3 o’clock on opening day by Rev. Edward Everett Hale, D.D. Music – Bazaar – Cafe – and Foreign Costumes.” The invitation was drawn by Arthur W. Dow.

Farmer persuaded Whittier to contribute an entire collection of books toward this endeavor.

The original Eliot Hotel today is called Sarah Farmer Inn. It is found on the extensive grounds of the Green Acre Bahai School in Eliot.

Farmer bequeathed the Green Acre facility to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahais of the United States, and today it serves as a conference center for the Bahai community.

Sources: Maine Historical Society’s online museum, www.mainememory.net