Our Heritage

Above: We are a Composite of All of the Generations Before US.  Enjoy pearls of wisdom from Lydia Clemmons Senior and a short slideshow of some of the family photos.


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​Jack and Lydia Clemmons’ parents and grandparents were among the millions of African-American families who moved from the rural South to the urban mid-West and Western United States during the two Great Migrations in US history.  Jack's mother's family was from Mississippi and moved to Wisconsin, his father's family was from North Carolina, and his paternal grandfather was originally from Martinique.  Lydia's parents were born in Louisiana and moved to an oil boom town in Arkansas when she was an infant. Her family later joined the Great Migration and moved to Harvey, Illinois and Los Angeles, California.   Clemmons Family Farm is working to document their families' histories prior to their lives in the rural South. 

The story of how Jack and Lydia Clemmons eventually wound up in Vermont in the early 1960's, transformed the farm into a beautiful estate through hard work and frugal living, built an extraordinary life together, and raised a family in Vermont is a fascinating chapter in the rich history of African-Americans in Vermont and across the nation.   

Our Heritage programs include:
  • Clemmons family storytelling that spans 150 years of history;
  • multi-cultural exchanges and learning opportunities around African-American and African farming, the arts, health and healing sciences;
  • speaking engagements, presentations, and exhibits by African-American and African scholars, artists, and farmers; 
  • meetings, and social gatherings celebrating African-American and African heritage and historic events.

​Clemmons Family Farm is proud to own and steward the Clemmons Farm as one of the official historic landmark sites on Vermont's African-American Heritage Trail and as a site of national historic significance listed in the National Register of Historic Places.