The Hamilton Farms sign has been taken down. The four greenhouses will soon be empty and Tom and Doreen Deckenbach are ready to retire. The farm, which stood on the Denville border with Boonton Township for three generations, has shut its doors for good.
The couple sold Hamilton Farms Greenhouses and Farm Market Tuesday after 20 years of making a living as farmers. It’s been a family-run venture ever since Tom Deckenbach's grandfather, Henry Hamilton, bought 53 acres in the Rockaway Valley in 1928.
Hamilton was known for the romaine lettuce that he grew and sold in Newark. The second generation added the greenhouses that became the farm's biggest money maker. It was the 5 acres of greenhouses where they grew plants for wholesale and retail that kept them in the black and allowed the couple to sell the business Tuesday for “a lot of money." The couple would not say who bought the farm or for how much, but did say they "will be comfortable."
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