Our History

Smoke Hill Farm is located on the St Lawrence River Divide and within the Kankakee River Basin in Porter County, Indiana. Smoke Hill Farm possesses a valuable ecological past. The farm sits on one of the high points in the county as a result of the Wisconsin Glacial Episode. Rainfall flows off the land south to the Kankakee River and north to Lake Michigan. The picturesque, hilly Historic Smoke Road (named for Fred Smoke, a Porter County farmer and philanthropic pioneer) is crossed by Salt Creek and is bordered by wetlands, ponds, nature walks, and a privately owned wildlife refuge. The wooded areas surrounding Smoke Road are home to a variety of wildlife, including bobcats, deer, weasels, pheasants, quail, fox, coyotes, songbirds, raccoons, opossums, and chipmunks. A variety of wildlife can be seen in the nearby ponds and wetlands, including mallards, wood ducks, kingfishers, loons, and hardworking beavers.

Smoke Hill Farm was once a 300+ acre dairy farm. It was reduced in size and purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Sauter who raised their two sons at the farm for many years. Art and Pam Davis bought the farm in 1972 where they raised their three children along with horses, chickens raised on pasture, a few steers, and a sizable vegetable garden.

January of 2024 marks the reopening of the pasture-raised chickens and vegetable garden by the second generation of the Davis family, who also intend to introduce bees and other farm animals.