History

Bottom’s Up Farms is celebrating 100 years of survival in this year! 

The old farm was settled by Norwegian immigrants a century ago, and the original parcel included most of what is now know as Manzanita Park.

The historic home has only had 4 owners in the past century, including Halvor, Lasana & Oscar Thorsen, Sue Thorsen,  Steve , Maureen, Corey & Casey Swinburn and Elizabeth & Webster Gadbois. 

In the 1970’s, Oscar Thorsen inhabited the property, and his heavy drinking habits forced him to sell off most of the acreage.  Luckily, that large chunk of land fell into the hands of Akio Suyematsu, one of the most prominent faces of farming on Bainbridge Island.  In the 1990’s, Suyematsu subdivided a few small parcels for his proteges, Karen Selver of Bainbridge Island Farms and Mike Paulsen of Paulsen Trees.  Suyematsu Farms, Bainbridge Island Farms and Paulsen Tree Farm are actively farmed today.

In the meantime, the historic farmhouse (The Thorsen House, circa 1909) was passed down to Oscar’s daughter, Sue Thorsen…and she lived in the home most of her life, raising her own two children in the same house.   Sue passed away in the late 1980’s, and her ashes were sprinkled in the pasture in a quiet ceremony during the Farmstock Festival in 2008.

In the late 70’s, the house was sold to  Maureen and Steve Swinburn, and they lived on the farm for 20 years.   The Swinburn’s kept horses on the property, and they built the guest house for  Maureen’s mother.  Rumor has it that the Swinburn’s sold the property because Maureen’s mother lived in the guest house…a little too close for comfort. 

The current owner, Elizabeth Gadbois , purchased the home in 1999.  In honor of 100 years of survival, Gadbois is seeking historic designation for the Thorsen House, and she officially named the farm Bottom’s Up Farm, in recognition of the heavy drinking and frolicking that has taken place on the property.  Ironically, the drinking that forced the selloff in the 1970’s probably saved the farm…because it fell into the hands of farm steward, Akio Suyematsu.  If that event had not occurred, it is easy to speculate that the land would have been subdivided and homes built on this prime piece of real estate that locals refer to as the Gold Coast.

In the past ten years, the pasture at Bottom’s Up Farms has been used for many purposes, including a tulip farm (Bainbridge Bulb Company), horse pasture, driving range, art festival and concert venue (Farmstock Festival), and now, kid-friendly community gardens.  Farmstock Festival and the Kid-Friendly Community Gardens were both created to raise awareness of historic farmland.  May this farm…and all of the surrounding farms on Manzanitia Road…always remain farmland.