Free Republic

What radicalized me? Oh gee I don’t know, maybe stories like this one? Per a report at Fox News, township officials in the unincorporated community of Cranbury, NJ are in the process of seizing a historic family farm that has been under the family’s ownership for 175 years—that means since 1850—because they want to use it for a welfare housing project. Benji Farraro reports that in April, Andy and Christopher Henry, the two brothers who currently own the farm, received a letter that informed them that Cranbury would be seizing all 21 acres, but government officials have now decided that...

US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that the USDA is moving to assist the New Jersey farmer whose 175-year-old family farm is facing seizure by local government through eminent domain. Rollins posted on X that she had spoken directly with the farm’s owner, Andy Henry, after Cranbury Township approved a plan to take his 21-acre property for the development of affordable housing. “The city govt has approved seizing his 175-year-old family farm via eminent domain for affordable housing units,” Rollins wrote. “Whether the Maudes, the Henrys or others whom we will soon announce, the Biden-style government takeover of our...

For three decades, Andy Henry has declined $20-30 million offers for his 21-acre, 175-year-old farm. Ironically, local government is using his perseverance to take the entire property via eminent domain and replace pasture with affordable housing. Grass for concrete? Legacy surrendered? No deal, Henry says. Period. Full stop. On South River Road, in Middlesex County, N.J., warehouses and industrial buildings have replaced the once abundant farms of yesteryear—except a lone holdout. “My family sacrificed on this land for 175 years,” Henry adds. “All the other farms disappeared. We did not. We will not.” In 1850, Joseph McGill—Andy Henry’s maternal great-grandfather—bought...