In the midst of a growing, developing Bridgeport, a fourth-generation farm is thriving. With promise for a continuing future, Poth family farms also has quite a history.

 

“The Poth family came over from Holland around 1910,” said Brittany Poth-Lesmann, a fourth-generation farmer. “They planted their roots at a farm along a trolley route on what we now call Route 58.”

 

Presently, the farm operates out of two locations: On Route 58 behind Walmart and just off Route 58 on Meadland Road.

 

Poth-Lesmann’s great-grandfather was a dairy and vegetable farmer, who many in the area also knew as their milk man.

 

“He bottled and home-delivered milk from our farm – Holland Dairy,” she said.

 

Poth-Lesmann said her memories of the farm go way back.

 

“I remember going with my Uncle Jason and Grandpa Jim to milk cows at the dairy barn that is still at my Grandma’s house on Route 58 – right up from U-Haul,” she said. “I remember even being taught to milk by hand. I fed calves by bottle. I showed a cow at Jackson’s Mill and was involved in 4-H. I also remember the sweet corn and tomatoes I would help pick from our garden.”

 

It wasn’t until 2003 – because of the changing economy – that the family transitioned its operation to a beef and produce farm.

 

“Though a little ahead of the farmers market curve, we operated a small farmers market called the Edge of Town Market,” Poth-Lesmann said.

 

Though the family members’ demanding schedules didn’t allow them to continue the business, the Poths did continue to supply beef and produce to their friends and family and were thrilled to eventually form a relationship with Bridgeport Farmers Market.

 

It was 2016 when Jason Poth Farms became a BFM vendor. Jason Poth, Poth-Lesmann’s uncle, manages the beef and produce operations with help from family members.

 

Poth-Lesmann and her husband Patrick own and operate an off-shoot business, Rural Roots.

 

“The decision to expand into food service was easy, given our background in the industry,” she said. “This was a way to combine my passion for hospitality with my roots.”

 

Poth-Lesmann said when she was younger, she always knew that everything on the Sunday dinner table at her Grandma Sheila’s house was grown on the farm. She came to learn what a treasure that was.

 

“You don’t realize that there are some people who have never had a vine-ripened tomato that was picked that morning,” she said.

 

Poth-Leesman said her family is excited to share that experience with those in the area through Rural Roots.

 

Jason Poth Farms continues to grow and sells grass-fed beef and seasonal produce through Bridgeport Farmers Market.

 

“Rural roots is going to focus on using as many local ingredients from our farm, as well as other farms in the community,” she said.

Sunday – during Bridgeport Farmers Market’s summer debut – Rural Roots’ offerings included sliders made from Jason Poth Farms beef, slider buns from Little red Hen’s Bakery, pickles from sunny Hollow Farms, strawberries – used in homemade cobbler and lemonade and tea - from Green Acres Farms.

 

The Poth family has been approached often by developers who wish to purchase the property. They did sell one piece for the development of East Pointe.

 

“But at that time it was either sell or have the risk of it being taken,” Poth-Lesmann said. “It wasn’t an easy decision for my grandfather.”

 

Since then, the answer has always been the same: The farmland is not for sale.

 

“We hope to always keep what we have in the family,” Poth-Lesmann said.

 

Jason Poth (pictured above) is a 1989 graduate of Bridgeport High School. Poth-Lesmann (pictured with husband Patrick) attended Bridgeport schools through the eighth grade, then graduated from Robert C. Byrd in 2007. 

 

 

Editor's Note: Also pictured above (and on the cover) is fifth-generation Poth family farmer, Gabe, son of Patrick Lesmann and stepson of Brittany Poth-Lesmann.

 

Read more about Bridgeport Farmers Market, now open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday at Charles Pointe HERE and also by reading the Let's Get Fresh blog.