Restoring Organic

Farm Land

An Agricultural Hub, Once Again

Hopkins Park, part of Pembroke Township, Illinois, was once the home of the largest Black farming community North of the Mason-Dixon Line. Founded in the 1860s by runaway slaves, Pap and Mary Eliza Tetter, Pembroke Township/ Hopkins Park became a Black agricultural hub. 

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By the 1950s, Pembroke Township/ Hopkins Park included over 63,000 acres of land farmed predominantly by Black farmers. These families were committed stewards of the land, and grew organically and biodynamically long before these terms were used. As a result, this region boasts ecological richness and biodiversity that has been lost in many other parts of our country. Click to read more about our land, and history.

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Today, less than 50% of this land is owned by descendents of farming families.  In partnership with Pembroke Township, The Conservation Fund and Savanna Institute, we are

restoring at least 1,000 acres of farmland.