During the first week of May Betty and I were in York for the ground breaking for our new house. We learned, quite by accident, that the Highland Farm had been sold and the new owner was planning to turn it into a restaurant and golf course.
Highland Farm is about 1/4 mile north of the Junkins Garrison site and is on what was originally Samuel Junkins homestead. The Samuel Junkins Burial ground, discovered about 5 years ago deep in the woods, is on this property and just this year Roland Junkins and David Leck found the cellar hole of Joseph (3)'s house near by. The thought of a golf course being built with large earthmoving equipment changing the contour of the land and the possibility of the oldest identified grave (Samuel Junkins b. 1735 d. 1791) being plowed under or being surrounded by greens and sand traps, sent Betty and me charging off to the Town of York Planning Board Meeting.
Our first concern was the right to access to the burial ground. Roland Junkins had just completed three years work of restoring the burial ground, repairing and re-setting the headstones, cutting trees, removing trash and cutting grass. We were concerned that the new owner would not allow us to maintain the burial ground. I was allowed to speak on behalf of the Junkins family and was immediate ly assured by the owners engineers that they were aware of the burial ground and that it would be protected.
After the meeting, Kenneth Giles, the new owner of the Highland Farm introduced himself to Betty and me. Mr. Giles stated that he would write a letter immediately granting the Junkins family right to pass in order to visit and maintain the burial grounds.
During the summer there has been great activity at the Highland Farm. The old farm house is being restored and converted to a 300 seat family restaurant and progress is also being made on the golf course. Big heavy equipment has been moving large trees from the wooded areas to make double and triple rows of trees between the new fairways.