Cameron's History
Albert "A.J." Cameron (pictured right) was a landscaper, lumberman, developer and entrepreneur born in Long Island, New York. The Cameron family moved to Farmington in 1918 when A.J. was 13 years old. At first, the family cut and sold lumber to make a living. When he was 17, A.J. returned to Long Island to work as a superintendent on construction crews building bridges for the railroad.
During the 1920's, A.J. returned to Farmington for good. He founded A.J. Cameron Sod Farms in 1924 when he was just 19 years old, cutting and laying sod by hand. He was one of the first to provide that product in New England. Our sod was even used to resurface Fenway Park each spring! A.J. was a pioneer in the business and an innovator who designed and built his own equipment. Since then, we have owned hundreds of acres in the local area in order to grow and cut our own turf sod and blueberry sod, and today we are still one of the largest wholesalers, retailers, and installers of sod in the northeast.
During the Great Depression, we also returned to lumbering when A.J. built a shingle mill and later a sawmill in town. Both mills were sold when a larger mill was built at the site on Route 11 we still call "home." During WWII, we produced lumber and box boards in that mill for the war effort. A.J. also sent plans to his brother, George, who was serving as a Marine overseas, so that they could build a similar mill in Europe and cut even more lumber for the effort. Following the war, the country — and business — was booming. We began taking large-scale commercial landscaping and sod jobs at airports, highways, parks and earthen dams. A.J. even ran crews in Long Island again for a time.
Cameron's has always been a family business. A.J. had five sons and two daughters: James, Don, Bill, Jack, Fred, Sue and Toppy. In the 1960's, A.J.'s sons began working full time at the business. Only Fred left for a time to serve as a United States Marine in Vietnam. He was honored as Marine of the Month during his training at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina, and was twice awarded a Meritorious Mast.
With continued growth during the 1970's and more involvement from the family, A.J. eventually went into semi-retirement. Don, Bill and Fred assumed ownership. Several of A.J.'s grandchildren started working with us during the summers in the mid- to late-80's. We again played a large role in the commercial real estate development boom all over New England, landscaping malls, shopping centers and corporate campuses from Connecticut to Maine. During this time, we were the landscaper for Sullivan Stadium, home of the New England Patriots – a role we continued proudly as Sullivan was replaced with Gillette Stadium less than a decade ago. Our work for the Kraft family at Gillette Stadium included an award-winning landscape restoration project on the Neponset River as well a complete landscape construction of the stadium complex.
Our site in Farmington has changed and expanded over the years alongside the company. In 1999, A.J.'s sawmill was razed (with the help of the Farmington Volunteer Fire Department) and we built a larger mill that specializes in large timbers and custom sawing. We also added more greenhouses to the Garden Center. And, several barns and warehouses were converted or built to house building materials, a grade-stake mill, and a new equipment rental office.
After 11 years working seasonally, Fred's son, Scott, joined the company full time after graduating from college in 1999. Fred's second son, Steven, who had also worked several summers landscaping, joined the company full time after graduating high school in 2000. Don and Bill retired in 2005, while Fred continues as the company President.
After all these years, we remain an active member of the Farmington community where many of our family and staff live. One of our highlights each year is our Mother's Day Open House. We support the 500 Boys Club little league baseball team and other youth athletics. Fred Cameron also provides the Pamela Cameron Annual Memorial Scholarship at Farmington High School. Read here about our recent donation of the world's longest sled to the New Hampshire Farm Museum.
When A.J. Cameron passed away in 1990 he left a proud legacy for Scott and Steven, our newest generation of family owners, and for all of our employees, who are just like family. With continued dedication and hard work we will proudly represent the Cameron's tradition into our centennial year and beyond.
