Gilsland Farm

Silas Noyes (1796–1874)^[1] constructed a home at the start of today's Gilsland Farm Road,^[2] near a section of Old U.S. Route 1, in the early 1800s. Around a century later, in 1911, attorney and conservationist David Moulton (1871–1951) and his brother, Willis (1862–1938),^[3][4] bought the land.^[5]

Moulton named the land Gilsland, after his relative, Sir Thomas de Moulton, who was named "Thom of the Gils" by his friend Richard I. (A gils is a narrow, wooden glen in old English.)^[4] It was during this ownership that the property was the home of over 400 species of peonies. Moulton died in 1951, and around two decades later his daughter, Ruth,^[5] began donating parts of the farm to Maine Audubon, which now owns 65 acres (26 ha).^[6] Maine Audubon purchased the farmhouse in 1981.^[7]

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  A view of the western side of the farmland
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  David Moulton's peony garden
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  A common yellowthroat at the farm in 2022

• Official website