Sanctified by a native peace pipe ceremony in 1894, the
Sarah Farmer Inn, near the banks of the Piscataqua river in Eliot, Maine,
became a conference facility for a variety of courses, including
transcendentalism, evolution and comparative religion. Its open-minded
atmosphere attracted people of many religions, cultures, and races. It provided
a peaceful setting for fostering fellowship, understanding and unity.
After her pilgrimage to ‘Akka in 1900, Sarah Farmer, made
the facilities at the disposal of the followers of the Faith which she had
herself recently embraced. The center attracted many Baha’i speakers including
some very famous like, Mirza Abu’l-Fadl in 1902. In 1912 Green Acre became
specially blessed by the footsteps of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Who spent a week there and
gave a number of talks. In one of them on August 17 He indicated that “In the
future, God willing, Green Acre shall become a great center, the cause of the
unity of the world of humanity, the cause of uniting hearts and binding
together the East and the West. This is my hope. (Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation
of Universal Peace, p. 264). It is reported that ‘Abdu’l-Baha further indicated
that one day Green Acre would become the site of the first Baha'i University
and the second Baha'i Temple in the United States. The room in which
‘Abdu’l-Baha stayed is reserved nowadays for prayers and meditation.
Green Acre was the site of America’s earliest conferences on
racial unity. It was also at Green Acre that the first election of the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States and Canada took place.
On 12 August 1929, the NSA of US and Canada obtained legal title to the
property. Green became the site for the first office of the National Spiritual
Assembly and the residence of its secretary, Horace Holley.
Today Green Acre thrives as a year round Baha'i School
drawing people from all around New England, The United States and Canada, and
the world. The Sarah Farmer Inn has been restored and renovated to accommodate
guests. Extensive work on other parts of the property have resulted in the
creation of a beautiful place to visit and learn about the Baha'i Faith
including a fully functional Baha'i bookstore. Picnics and concerts are often
held on the grounds bringing many people to Green Acre for a pleasant day or
two of rest and fellowship.”
(Adapted from ‘Intro to the History of the Green Acre Baha'i
School in Eliot, Maine’; online resources at
http://bahai-library.com/essays/greenacre.html; Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By,
pp. 261& 288; A Concise Encyclopedia of the Baha’i Faith by Peter Smith;,
and A Basic Baha’i Chronology, by Glenn Cameron and Wendi Momen)
