Photo: JJManning Auctioneers
WHITMAN, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Peaceful Meadows in Whitman has a new owner.
The ice cream stand, barns, home, offices, equipment, and 55 acres of farmland went up for grabs at an auction held by JJManning Auctioneers Tuesday, a month after the owners announced they were voluntarily selling it.
With the winning bid of $1.75 million, John Hornstra of Hornstra Farms in Norwell secured the property.
"I was planning on going to a million and a half," Hornstra told WBZ NewsRadio. "I saw my son standing next to me and I’m trying to support the next generation, so we went a little farther than we wanted to, but I’m glad to have it."
The heavy favorite going into Tuesday's auction, the dairy farmer joked that the reason he went as high as he did was because he "didn’t want to disappoint everybody on the South Shore."
"There was a lot of hyped media stuff and Facebook stuff and I couldn’t bear the thought of somebody else getting it because I’m one of those people who I always try to do the right thing," Hornstra said.
When asked if he thought he might lose the property as the bidding became more and more competitive towards the end, Hornstra responded, "I was just trying to decide where I was going, and I’m the fourth generation of my business and my son’s the fifth, so I kind of looked towards him and he rolled his eyes and I said, okay, here’s 50 more, let’s see where it goes."
Peaceful Meadows began as a farm along Route 18 in Whitman in 1920 before owners William and Nellia Hogg opened the ice cream business in 1962.
Hornstra, who makes and sells his own ice cream on his Norwell farm, hopes to restore Peaceful Meadows to its fullest potential.
"I hope I can continue what they did here and have some cows eventually here and bring back a working dairy farm to Whitman," Hornstra said.
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App | TikTok