Welcome to the historical photo gallery, a collection of photos taken from the archives with many never seen before photos. These vintage photos capture the unique Life, Legend and history of Louis Bromfield’s family, friends and farm life in his rural Ohio farm, Malabar Farm. We hope you enjoy viewing this collection and stop by to see new additions as they are discovered. Click over photos for information about each photo.
Photo Gallery
* Click on any image to learn more, Photo Credits Ohio Department of Natural Resources *
The old Berry homestead was constructed in 1919 from a kit ordered from the Sears Roebuck Catalog Company. Sears, Roebuck, and Company is estimated to have sold 100,000 catalog homes in the U.S. between 1908 and 1940, with probably the heaviest individual sales years before 1929. Sears Roebuck’s business model set itself apart from other kit home marketers by offering an accompanying home mortgage to their customers beginning in 1916. There were over 370 different home models. Sears sold building products before 1900,and sold kit homes from 1908 to 1940.
Even though the Bromfield’s lived in a “Big House”, the way the family lived was casual, accommodating, and exuberant, just like any other family. Hey, who left the refrigerator door open! Reba Williams, Bromfield’s long-time cook, recounted that the only complaint she had with Bromfield was that he let those “dogs” into the kitchen and left the refrigerator door open. Bromfield’s 32-room home is well-preserved and open to public tours. Stop by for a visit!
Very little remains of the trapper’s cabin built by an ancestor of the Fergusons. Parts of what is now Malabar Farm were farmed by the Ferguson family for over 150 years. Louis Bromfield used the Ferguson family history as his inspiration for many of his writings. This spot was one of Bromfield’s favorite places to be alone. It is believed that many of his beloved dogs were buried near this spot. Enjoy the solitude of this spot when you visit the farm.
Humphrey Bogart and Louis Bromfield became very good friends while in New York and Hollywood. When it was time for Bogarts marriage to actress Lauren “Betty” McCall, Bogart asked his dear friend Louie to be his best man. The private wedding was held at Bromfield’s Malabar Farm in Lucas, Ohio in May 1945. You can see the grand staircase where the couple tied the knot and the beautiful scene of the reception when you tour the Big House.
SOIL- now here is the most interesting and important part of Malabar Farm. It is what holds the whole place together and gives it health. Variations in soils can be determined by its color, its texture, and its wetness. The type of soil at Malabar Farm is known as Wooster Loam. Bromfield called pasture “the great healer”. He enjoyed showing his friends and the thousands of visitors around the farm the many improvements he made to the soil fertility and erosion controls put into the farm. His message is one of foundations of today’s sustainable agriculture movement.
As a writer, Bromfield also wrote screenplays that included the action and dialogue for over a dozen movies. Several of these movies were based on novels that Bromfield had written. One of them, The Rains Came (1939, 20th Century Fox), a movie about India, was nominated for six Academy Awards. It won the category for best special effects, beating out the movies “The Wizard of Oz” and “Gone with the Wind”. Bromfield had many famous movie stars who would often come to visit at Malabar Farm. These movie stars and other guests were often called upon to assist with farm chores or to wash and sell produce. Even though it was a frequent destination for Hollywood’s most famous stars, it was still a working farm, first and foremost.
