The Petty family’s “Tranquility Farm,”
The Petty family’s “Tranquility Farm,” located along the scenic shores of the Patuxent River in St. Mary’s County, is one of the more unique properties to have been conserved by MET. Totaling 300 acres, the riverfront property is sandwiched between the 600 acre Greenwell State Park, and the historic Sotterley Plantation, a restored 18th century Tidewater plantation house that is now a museum on 100 acres. MET also holds an easement on a portion of Sotterley together with the Maryland Historical Trust.
Tranquility Farm is a working farm that is home to Angus cattle, sheep, and more recently oysters grown in the waters adjacent to the property. Woodlands cover around two-thirds of the property. MET and he Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust jointly hold the easement on the entire property, which was purchased in 2002 using Program Open Space funds allocated by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
After moving to Washington, DC in the 1960’s, John and Lee Petty acquired the property in 1972 through a descendant of one of the most famous Americans of the early 20th century, J.P. Morgan, whose son-in-law, Herbert Satterlee, acquired the Sotterley Plantation in the early 1900s. Ownership of the property then passed to Mr. Satterlee’s daughter, Mabel Ingalls. Mabel was a good friend of the Petty’s, and she sold to them the 300 acre portion of Sotterley Plantation that became Tranquility Farm.
John and Lee’s son Tal spent many weekends of his childhood helping his parents run their farm, which was a country retreat from the hustle and bustle of their Washington, DC lives. This experience stuck with Tal, and he now resides full-time at Tranquility Farm. Most of his time is dedicated to operating the Hollywood Oyster Company, his venture in oyster aquaculture. After state legislation passed in 2009 that allowed for the leasing of state waters for aquaculture, Tal formed his company in 2010 and began leasing five acres of the Patuxent and one of its tributaries, Hog Neck Creek, adjacent to the property to commercially farm oysters.
Oyster farming is a highly-regulated enterprise, where water quality is tested regularly by Maryland’s Department of the Environment and Department of Health. However, the business has become quite successful for Tal and his family. Hollywood Oyster Company has ten employees and the operation annually sells over a million premium half-shell oysters to wholesale distributors, which then sell the oysters to restaurants around the region. These oysters also act as a filter for the waters around where they grow: about 50 gallons of water per day, per oyster, according to Tal. The cumulative benefit of these oysters, which are grown in vertically suspended cages, called water columns, has had a noticeable cleansing impact on the waters adjacent to the property. Tal has seen improved biodiversity, including expansion of underwater grasses, which has created a more attractive environment for crabs and eels.
Tal’s ingenuity and dedication to his farm, combined with the conservation offered by the easement, have provided an excellent resource for all of Maryland. Crucial woodlands and wetlands near threatened tidewater habitats have been protected, and these same lands and waters are used for sustainable, profitable enterprises that provide jobs and an economic benefit to the state.
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