Home Buying

How do you like them apples? Enough to buy this Groton orchard?

The 48.65-acre "Top Secret Orchard" has hit the market for $2.79 million.

The Groton property comes with a heated barn. Madore Photography

February 18, 2025

2 minutes to read

Atop a Groton peak sits a 48.65-acre property with a farmhouse, heated barn, and orchard — a parcel that could become the apple of your eye.

The price for 100 Whitman Road? $2,790,000.

The orchard was planted in the 1960s exclusively for commercial use, with apples being sent to grocery stores around the country. It was later closed off to the public — earning the title “Top Secret Orchard” — until it was bought in 2020.

The orchard produces four kinds of apples. *Madore Photography*

Ryan McGuane bought the orchard with a goal of giving back to the community. Since then, the farm has opened to the public for pick-your-own sales, but it has donated thousands of pounds of apples a year, harvested by volunteers, to food pantries.

“We have almost more volunteers than we have apples to pick in a day,” said Lindsay Jarvis, McGuane’s partner, as well as the owner and the colisting agent of the property alongside Leslie Tondreau of Lamacchia Realty. “It’s a really responsive community.”

The community’s love for Top Secret Orchard is clear, with 24,000 followers on Facebook. The orchard produces McIntosh, Macoun, Golden Delicious, and Cortland apples in season, which lasts about six weeks.

The farmhouse was built in 2004 and offers 3,634 square feet of living space. It boasts an open layout encompassing the kitchen and living area. Other highlights include a stone fireplace, four bedrooms, 3.5 baths, and a gym. Floor-to-ceiling windows, porches, and the rooftop deck allow you to take in the bucolic landscape from all angles.

The home’s living area features a wall of windows and a stone fireplace. *Madore Photography*

The heated barn was built in 2011.

Jarvis and McGuane emphasized how private the property is. To access it, you drive through Groton Country Club, which is town-owned and open to the public.

“All of a sudden you take a turn, and you’re in the middle of the orchard. We have 1,800 feet of frontage with the country club,” McGuane said. “There’s no neighbors.”

The property sits on a hill in Groton and has panoramic views. *Madore Photography*

Forty-three of the property’s acres are Agricultural Preservation Restriction land, meaning they can never be built upon unless it is for agricultural use. The barn and the home sit on 5-plus acres designated residential.