Smugglers Notch Farm - Jeffersonville, Vermont

Florence Knoll Bassett- a giant in the world of modern design and architecture- Knoll was taught by Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen and the German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Born in Michigan in 1917, she worked with Bauhaus architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, revolutionizing the world of design. Her work is represented in the Smithsonian, the Louvre, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Met. In 2003, President George W. Bush presented her with the nation’s highest award for artistic excellence, the National Medal of Arts.
Brought to the foothills of Mount Mansfield by the property’s original owners, Elizabeth and John Hanifin in 1981, “Shu” Basset designed and influenced this unique landmark property in her inimitable style and her distinctive handprint on the original home remains apparent to this day.
Significantly expanded under the current owners’ decade long stewardship - both in terms of the built environment and the total acreage - what has been created is the ultimate Vermont refuge, retreat, and private kingdom. Spanning almost 300 acres in the northern lee of Mount Mansfield, Pratt Road, and the Happy Valley area of Jeffersonville are known for some of the most dramatic views on Vermont’s highest mountain.
Smugglers’ Notch Farm takes its name from the famous Smugglers’ Notch connecting Stowe and Cambridge, VT where goods were traded between Vermont and Canada after the Embargo Act of 1807 and through which liquor was brought from Canada during Prohibition.
The farm sits on 270 acres of exquisite Vermont countryside with open meadows, woodlands, and forests covering the land with creeks, old grove apple orchards, and century-old maple trees, and ancient stone walls. The main house features the artistic melding of a well-provenanced 1981 mid-century modern aesthetic with the addition of an early 18th-century post and beam frame cabin, chosen specifically for the site, relocated and erected by the current owners.
Numerous antique frame barns and corn cribs were also added to the landscape over the last six years and fit perfectly into the vernacular of the landscape. Taking maximum advantage of the bountiful resources offered by this working landscape, the farm is currently set up to produce for an actively engaged owner world-class maple syrup, honey and bee products, red and white wine, and fruits of many kinds, including apples, pears, cherries and many types of berries.
Smugglers’ Notch Farm is uniquely positioned to utilize its terroir - the soil, artesian spring water, southern sun, and green mountain air - to produce Vermont products of the highest quality. The farm currently is set up to produce maple syrup, honey and bee products, red and white wine, and fruits of many kinds, including apples, pears, cherries, and many types of berries. A self-sustaining and sustainable lifestyle is easily accomplished here amidst the acres of open pasture, hayfields, vineyard, and orchards. Additional lifestyle amenities include a heated, in-ground gunite pool, a tennis court, an observation tower, multiple ponds and streams, an interior system of roads and bridges offering miles of drivable, walkable, and skiable trails. The views of Vermont’s highest summit, to the South, from multiple vantage points on the property, are unparalleled.
The charming village of Cambridge is home to Smuggler's Notch Ski area & nearby Johnson State Univ., with the world-class resort of Stowe, Burlington International Airport, Boston, N.Y. and Montreal within an easy drive to this idyllic retreat.