Potomac — “I’ve been here since 1941 and I love this place. I rode horseback from here to Landon School and spent my summers farming,” said Bob Hanson, 91, recalling the days when Potomac was primarily farming and fox hunting country.

Nearly 75 years ago Hanson’s parents, Minna and William Hanson, bought the original property and named it Mt. Prospect Farms. It was the beginning of what was to become a conglomeration of many acres. “I think it was Dad who said, ‘If we can see other land from here we will see if it’s for sale, buy it and farm it,’” Bob Hanson’s son, John C. Hanson said.

He did, eventually accumulating nearly a thousand acres, many of which have been developed over the years. However, 170 acres of the original Mt. Prospect Farms have remained intact and will now be offered for sale.

A letter signed by John C. Hanson, Trustee, has been mailed to neighbors surrounding the Hanson property that is located near the intersection of Travilah, Dufief and Quince Orchard roads.

In essence, the letter states, “In the early 2000’s Montgomery County adopted the Potomac SubRegion Master Plan. This plan created very specific requirements controlling the future development of the property.” Sixty-five percent single family detached homes, the rest single-family attached homes, will combine for an accumulation of 187 dwellings. “The developed area of the site shall not exceed 50 percent of the property, excluding a 10-acre local park,” John Hanson said.

He also stated in the letter, “The family reserves the right, at any time and for any reason, to cease or modify this selection process and/or withdraw the property for sale.”

Hanson said, “I have enjoyed my association with the farm for my whole life. From going out this morning in my office suit and dress shoes to mend a fence a tree limb fell on, to working with the cattle all these years.” It was later learned Hanson had received an 8 a.m. call from a neighbor that morning that a black cow was in the Travilah School parking lot.

“We got the cow back in the field, counted the herd to make sure all were there and found an extra,” he said. A baby calf was born just minutes before the head count was taken.

“I’ve worked with cattle all these years and will miss that. But, the farm requires more attention than we can give it now,” he said.

His nonagenarian father, Bob, admitted he mowed and raked about 100 tons of hay this summer for his 42 head of cattle. For anyone who has known him over the years this would be no surprise. He has been involved over 50 years with the Boy Scouts of America, as a scout master and one year took 40 local boys to the 13th World Jamboree of Scouts in Japan, where he recalled they camped on Mt. Fuji.

He was also one of the 14 original founders of The Montgomery County Fair where he helped build the original buildings, is a member of the Upper Montgomery County Farmer’s Club, of which his father was one of the founders, and he is involved in 4-H Club activities.

Another son, Tim, and his family, lives next door to Bob. Their home, where they keep their horses, will not be included in the sale. Charles “Chuck” Hanson, the third son, lives in Lakewood, Colo.

“We are going to take this slowly. We have been told this is a multi-year process,” John

Hanson said, referring to the sale. According to the letter sent to neighbors, “We have not placed the property on the open market but have invited a select number of developers to join us in private negotiations. We hope to make a decision on the disposition of the property by spring 2016,” it stated.