St. John's road renamed for O'Brien farm as part of restoration project

The city of St. John's has renamed a section of Oxen Pond Road in honour of the O'Brien family farm.

• O'Brien Farm Foundation running out of cash for restoration project
• O'Brien farm ideas floated at public meeting

The name change to O'Brien Farm Roadis part of a restoration project to preserve the 150-year-old farm and make it a visitor attraction.

"I always thought it was a really magical, wonderful place," said comedian Mark Critch, who said he would often visit the farm as a child.

He and St. John's mayor Dennis O'Keefe unveiled the sign for the new name at a ceremony on Saturday.

"It's not just preserving the farm it's also preserving their way of life and all the great knowledge they had to pass down," Critch said.

"It's important for the city to save this. We have so much development going on, and it's better to have the odd bit of farmland than another Sobey's."

Farm will be public attraction

The 32-acre farm is one of the city's oldest farming properties, having operated in the heart of St. John's since around 1815.

The O'Brien Farm Foundation is now working to renovate and repair the property's farmhouse, Thimble Cottage, and make it into an educational centre.

The foundation also hopes to repurpose all five farm buildings on the property, and make the farmland a space where the public can walk, ski, have community gardens, and keep bees, among other activities.

O'Keefe said he wants to see the property filled with people.

"This is a celebration of the family, of this part of the city, that we will work with the O'Brien Family Foundation inorder to preserve forgeneration and generations to come," he said.