If you travel State Route 364 between Canandaigua and Middlesex this week, you will be treated to a spectacular view of sunflowers blossoming among strips of corn rows.
Behind this idyllic scene lies a bustling family farm of Leon Button, the fifth generation of Buttons to farm this land. The Button farm is vastly different today from its humble beginnings.
The 324-acre plot land was purchased in 1885 by Arnold Button. At that time, it was developed into primarily a fruit farm, growing apples, grapes, peaches, cherries and plums. Efforts to replace horse power were tried very early in the farm's history.
Bill and Ray Button, along with a neighbor, Henry Becker, developed the "Gasport Tractor," which was used in the early 1900s. Ten years later, the farm was using steam tractors to plow their fields.
In the 1950s, the land was cleared of the fruit crops and the concentration has been on dairy and related crops since then. The farm now includes 700 acres and a prize-winning Brown Swiss herd of 220 cows that produce 1600 gallons of milk daily.
This herd was started by Leon's father, "Dub" Button as a 4-H project in his early teen years.
On Sunday, Aug. 15, the Button family will be celebrating their 125 years of family farming with a beef roast. Family and friends will join them from noon to 4 p.m. to mark another milestone in the history of the picturesque farm on the hillside.
