The land that TMZ Farm resides on has a rich and interesting history. The closest village, Pinckney, was a very small hamlet centered on a lumber mill run by Honey Creek, a local tributary of the Huron River. On June 13, 1836 two tracks of land were entered into record for Lydia Jacoby. The following year dated May 13, 1837 then officially recorded in US Congress on August 15, 1836; these 80 acres were land granted to its first owner by President Martin Van Buren. On November 13, 1847 the entire 80 acres were sold for $5.00 to John Strickland.

In these years the farm was over 80 acres large, growing to 160 acres over the years to come, and was the home of two dairy farms run by two brothers. Our farm has one of the original milk cans from this time and it has been promised that this milk can stays with the property. The milking operation was in it’s prime in the 1930's and ran under the name of Hessenchel Farms.

Eventually a local school teacher and landscaper named John Burg acquired the remaining 80 acres that consisted of the dairy farm and began to raise a large family. He is responsible for most of the current barns – the large barn was a 4H project! He also installed the four seater outhouse that still sits in the backyard. He had 8 children; his youngest was born in the current guest room.

As time passed the farm proved to large as his family grew up and went their separate ways. Mr. Burg took some of the land to the east of the house and built a smaller home and tree nursery. Then he moved into town. Mr. Burg is currently in his 80’s and is still involved in our community. We love to talk and learn from him.

The Burgs sold the main portion of the farm, now down to 25 acres. The village took the back woods for their water treatment facilities and other land was sold throughout the years as well.. The new owners lived on the farm for over 20 years, raising their family there and adding cows and horses to the farm.

When Kevin and Renee found the farm for sale it was the prettiest little, best kept farm they had seen. The moment Kevin stepped out of the car he said “this is the place”. Renee was a bit more reserved and said, “let’s look inside first”. Even though the inside was a one bathroom, basic Michigan farmhouse, Kevin and Renee saw endless potential. All barns and fencing were already in place and ready for our horses and our plan to add cattle (and then, who knew, buffalo?!). The house was unique in the area and the mature and well maintained landscaping made it a nice, old fashioned farm – just what we wanted.

Kevin and Renee have put the house through two major renovations and the addition of a huge wraparound porch that allows them to entertain guests and enjoy Michigan summer evenings. We now have more than one bathroom. We added back 35 acres from the brother’s dairy farm down the road to bring our total land to over 65 acres (all part of the original 80 acre land grant) plus various leased acres. We updated the pastures, added gardens and of course our great livestock. It is a family owned, working farm, a site that is becoming more and more rare in our country.

We cannot imagine bringing up our children in any other environment. We see great value in preserving the past – old barns, old houses, old buildings. We believe that living in a rural environment creates more individualistic thinking in our children and gives them a good work ethic. Our children have cats, bunnies, dogs and horses that they are responsible for. They help with the feeding of the livestock. We invite the children from their schools to visit the farm on a regular basis.

Our farm is truly a small piece of heaven and we are blessed to live and work here.