Our Story
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Our Story

Our Story Begins

Our story began with Once in a Blue Moon Farm, our family home, and a healthy passion for animals, landscapes, natural systems and their human connection. Since 1998 we have offered island experiences to our guests. Our lodging business, Sleeping Sea has developed into a rural yet sophisticated alternative vacation destination. Three generations of our family are involved in our day to day operations. It is our commitment to a lifestyle, the people, the land, and the environment that makes Sleeping Sea an unequaled treasure anywhere in the Pacific Northwest.

History

Our farm estate has a rich history dating back to the first homesteaders on Orcas Island. Stories and lore from the farm boast how the apricots were too big to fit into a canning jar. Their strawberries consistently won prizes at the county fair and even some first prizes at the state fair. Apples and pears were shipped by boat, then train all along the West Coast and inland over the Cascades and Sierras. This farm had an orchard of hundreds of tall growing fruit trees. Rows of Gravenstein and King apples, Orcas and Bartlett pears, cherries, plums, peaches, and yes, apricots. These were the short lively years in San Juan County that boasted some of the best growing conditions for bountiful produce in the Pacific Northwest. By the 1920's, agriculture boomed in eastern Washington's heavily irrigated richer soils, longer and consistently warmer weather, and train serviced routes. Orcas Island farms could no longer remain competitive.

Many of our farm's historic apple and pear trees still stand and produce literally tons of fruit. Some of these majestic trees are over 100 years old and are heirloom varieties that are no longer grown or even available from seed. For those who walk quietly under their huge boughs, feelings of peace and awe are sure to overcome. Still, there are many other untold stories and secrets held on this land from the impossible to the unbelievable. For more history of the island be sure to visit the Orcas Island Historical Museum.

1880's - 1940's:
 John and Rachel Boede with their nine children homesteaded the 200 + acre farm, with all 11 of them living in a 425 square foot pioneer cabin. The original pioneer cabin was later relocated in the early 1950's to Eastsound and became one of the buildings of the Orcas Island Historical Museum.

 

Mid 1940's - 1982:
In the mid 1940's, on a visit to Friday Harbor one of the Boede heirs bet part of the farm in a poker game and lost. The winner wasn't interested in keeping the farm, so it was sold to the Eastman family, who lived here until 1982. At some point during this time, the large original barn was lost in a fire.

 

1982-1996:
The Eastman's sold the farm and the new owners extensively remodeled the old 1915 farmhouse, leaving little of the farm's history. The estate was then renamed Truffle Hill Farm after the hundreds of truffles they planted in the old apple orchard.

 

1996 - present:
The Lloyd-Lefton family purchased the farm after it languished on the market for much of the mid- 90's. Since then we have worked hard to transform the farm into a retreat for thoses seeking to enjoy a rural island experience.