Ayrlawn Farm/Park

The Ayrlawn farm site was first purchased by Mahlon Austin in 1869, purchasing 10 acres from the "Honesty" land patent. After selling to John C Letts in 1928, Letts combined the Austin farm and John Bohrer's farm to make "Ayrlawn Farm", stretching 100 acres. In the 1930s, the farmhouse was moved to its current-day position.

As a farm, it was operated as a model dairy farm, with prize-winning Jersey cows, in addition to a barn, silos (which still stand today), and the cattle barn which was moved in 1950 for road construction to 6005 Johnson Ave and converted into a house.

The land that Letts owned was operated by son in law F. Henry Jones after the death of Letts, and in 1946, was sold to the Stear-Mark Corporation and subdivided for homes, with approximately 400 being built. 20 acres of farm was sold to the parks and planning commission, which sold 3.1 acres to the public school system for the construction of Ayrlawn Elementary School, which opened in 1962.

The school stood on the site of the old main Barnhouse, but incorporated other original buildings, including the pasteurization barn used as a library adjacent to the school building, in addition to the smokehouse, watering trough, and root celler, which still stand. The park field is the original site of grazing for cattle, and the current location of the tennis courts is where the poultry houses were once located. Walking down a dirt lane to the east, the road formerly led to pigpens. A house for hired hands is adjacent to the farmhouse, and is at the address 5800 Johnson Avenue.

"Farm #17," MOOseum, accessed December 30, 2020, https://mooseum.sandglass.com/farm-17.

Website features extensive information about Ayrlawn Farm and hard to find images.