CLEMMONS FAMILY FARM
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      • Our Work
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    • Who We Are >
      • Jack and Lydia's Living Legacy
      • How Jack and Lydia Found and Bought the Farm
      • Holding On to Our Legacies
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    • Press Coverage >
      • Other News >
        • 2019 Visitors Survey: Sneak Preview
        • 2018 Updates
        • 2017 Updates
        • 2016 Updates
    • What Our Community is Saying >
      • 2018 Visitor Survey Findings!
      • Feedback from other Vermont communities
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  • Our Programs
    • Windows To A Multicultural World >
      • Joy in Motion!
      • Field Trips
    • African Diaspora Foodways Institute >
      • African Diaspora Foodways Institute Library
      • Culinary Heritage & Arts Program
      • Farm
    • Creating Healthy Communities >
      • How Are We Doing? >
        • Social Capital in the Arts
      • Creative Aging
      • Beneath Our Skin >
        • Beneath Our Skin Exhibit >
          • Blog: Beneath Our Skin Exhibit
      • Cancelling Miss Rona
      • A Sense of Place >
        • A Sense of Place at NEFA-CCX
    • 2025 Artists Residency
    • African Diaspora Classical Music
    • More Art >
      • 2023 Artists Residency
      • Summer 2016 Farm2Art Program
    • Heritage >
      • Heritage Celebrations >
        • BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2025
        • MLK Day 2024!
    • Forest
  • Job Openings
  • Artists' Registry
    • Are You Looking for an Artist?
    • Why, Hello there, Artists!
  • Historic Buildings
    • Rent Space >
      • Rent the Barn House
      • Rent Lawns
      • Reservation Form
    • Six Historic Buildings
    • The Barn House >
      • The Barn House Legacy
    • The Big Barn >
      • "Making History, Creating Place" Videos!
      • The Historic Water Cistern
    • The Main House >
      • About the Black Locust Trees
    • The Shop >
      • The Authentica Reading Room
      • Shop Storytelling Videos
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Heritage, Farm & Family Stories

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​The families of Jackson and Lydia Clemmons were from rural farming communities in Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina, and were part of the two Great Migrations of African-Americans who moved from the southern United States to the Midwest and California, beginning in the mid-1900's.
​
Lydia's mother and father married in Louisiana when they were 14 and 17 years old, respectively. Although they began their lives as farmers, they eventually migrated to Harvey Illinois, just outside of Chicago. Her mother became a talented seamstress, and her father a hard-working welder.
Jack's great-grandfather was from Martinique.  In North Carolina, he founded a primary school for African American children. Years later, the Clemmons family moved to Wisconsin where Jack's parents ran a hat shop (straw and felt) and a dry cleaning business. ​

Jack and Lydia met in Wisconsin the early 1950's, while they were studying biochemistry and nursing. Jack served in the military in New York, and also in the Philippines while they were still engaged.  The couple eventually went on for further studies in pathology and anesthesiology. After spending some time for post-graduate work in Sweden, they moved to work in hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio.  As newlyweds, they dreamed of owning a farm, growing their own food, and living a life where they would be able to pursue their careers free of the discrimination they encountered in the Cleveland of the times.  In 1962, the intrepid couple moved their young family to Vermont in search of better employment opportunities and a safe and wholesome place to raise their children.  
Louisiana & Arkansas Stories: 1800's-1920's
Stories from the South to the Mid-West: 1930's to 1950's
Vermont Stories: 1960's to Present
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Clemmons Family Farm, Inc.
PO Box 546
Charlotte, Vermont 05445
​​Leave us a message at: 765-560-5445
​Contact us at: [email protected]
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© CLEMMONS FAMILY FARM. COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Our Work
  • About
    • In Remembrance
    • Our Team >
      • Job Openings
    • About Us >
      • Our Work
      • Our Vision
    • Who We Are >
      • Jack and Lydia's Living Legacy
      • How Jack and Lydia Found and Bought the Farm
      • Holding On to Our Legacies
    • When Are We Open?
    • Press Coverage >
      • Other News >
        • 2019 Visitors Survey: Sneak Preview
        • 2018 Updates
        • 2017 Updates
        • 2016 Updates
    • What Our Community is Saying >
      • 2018 Visitor Survey Findings!
      • Feedback from other Vermont communities
    • Subscribe!
  • Our Programs
    • Windows To A Multicultural World >
      • Joy in Motion!
      • Field Trips
    • African Diaspora Foodways Institute >
      • African Diaspora Foodways Institute Library
      • Culinary Heritage & Arts Program
      • Farm
    • Creating Healthy Communities >
      • How Are We Doing? >
        • Social Capital in the Arts
      • Creative Aging
      • Beneath Our Skin >
        • Beneath Our Skin Exhibit >
          • Blog: Beneath Our Skin Exhibit
      • Cancelling Miss Rona
      • A Sense of Place >
        • A Sense of Place at NEFA-CCX
    • 2025 Artists Residency
    • African Diaspora Classical Music
    • More Art >
      • 2023 Artists Residency
      • Summer 2016 Farm2Art Program
    • Heritage >
      • Heritage Celebrations >
        • BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2025
        • MLK Day 2024!
    • Forest
  • Job Openings
  • Artists' Registry
    • Are You Looking for an Artist?
    • Why, Hello there, Artists!
  • Historic Buildings
    • Rent Space >
      • Rent the Barn House
      • Rent Lawns
      • Reservation Form
    • Six Historic Buildings
    • The Barn House >
      • The Barn House Legacy
    • The Big Barn >
      • "Making History, Creating Place" Videos!
      • The Historic Water Cistern
    • The Main House >
      • About the Black Locust Trees
    • The Shop >
      • The Authentica Reading Room
      • Shop Storytelling Videos
  • Donate!
    • Subscribe!