Three Barns on 34.7 Acres, Ready to Reimagine
$449,900 Ripe for Reimagining
In Clifton Springs, in New York's Finger Lakes region — 34.7 acres of New York farmstead land, anchored by three connected barns.
Three connected barns and sprawling open land make this a genuine working-farm candidate — suited for horses, hobby farming, or hosting events, with the heavy lifting already underway inside the house: a new roof, leaf-guard gutters, and a new septic tank and leach field are already in, plus a fully renovated first-floor bathroom. What's left is cosmetic and structural finish work — the kind of vision project the home's intricate original trim and woodwork are worth investing in. 5 bd / 2 ba, 3,088 sq ft, built 1866, on 34.7 acres.
Listed at $449,900. Listing courtesy of Nathan E. Fox and Tracy Spring, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Zambito Realtors.
Homestead Potential
Water & Infrastructure
A new septic tank and leach field are already installed — one of the biggest-ticket, least glamorous items on any farmhouse renovation list, already crossed off here. Water itself will be well-sourced, typical for this stretch of Ontario County, where glacial till generally makes for dependable if sometimes hard groundwater. Get the well's output tested before closing rather than after, especially with three barns and almost 35 acres in play — horses, an events business, or any real livestock operation will draw far more than a five-person household ever would. If the plan includes an outdoor wash rack, a wedding-season port-a-john contract, or a working barn with animals in it, size the water system to that plan, not to the house alone.
Crop & Income Potential
This is genuine Finger Lakes agricultural country — Ontario County's mix of glacially-carved soil and lake-moderated climate has supported dairy, orchards, and vineyards for generations, and 34.7 open acres here is real working land, not a token backyard. Three barns already standing means the infrastructure for hay storage, equipment, or livestock doesn't have to be built from scratch; that alone can represent tens of thousands of dollars most 'starter' hobby farms have to budget for separately. The open acreage shown in the aerial photos looks like a mix of pasture and hayfield already, which suggests the land has been kept up rather than left to go fully wild — worth asking the sellers directly about its recent haying or grazing history. Whether the plan is a few horses, a market garden, or simply mowed fields and room to breathe, the groundwork here is already laid.
Sustainability
The renovation's already started in the right places — new roof, leaf-guard gutters, and new septic are the expensive, unglamorous fixes that determine whether a 160-year-old house is a smart project or a money pit, and they're already done. What's left — finish work, updating, bringing the interior back to match the exterior's bones — is the visible, rewarding part of the project rather than the risky structural part. At $146 a square foot for the house alone, before even counting three barns and 34.7 acres, this prices well below what new construction or a from-scratch barn build would cost in the same county — reusing existing structures instead of building new is itself the more resource-efficient path. A Victorian this old was also built before central heating and cooling assumptions took over house design, meaning thick walls, tall ceilings, and cross-ventilation that can genuinely reduce energy use once the systems catch up to the bones.
The Boundaries
The aerial listing photo marks its own lot lines as 'estimated' — with almost 35 acres and three separate barn structures, a current survey is worth the cost before closing, not after, especially since barn placement near a property line can complicate future building or fencing plans. Worth also confirming with the town what each barn is permitted for, especially if hosting events is part of the plan, since agricultural outbuildings and event-venue use don't always fall under the same permitting or insurance requirements. Given the open, low-lying look of some of the acreage in the aerial shots, it's also worth checking FEMA flood maps and any wetlands delineation before committing to specific building or fencing plans on the back portions of the land.
Beyond the Property Line
Local Flavor & Small-Town Character
Clifton Springs is a small Ontario County village with an unusual history — it grew up around natural sulphur springs in the 1800s and became a nationally known health-resort town, home to the Clifton Springs Sanitarium founded by Dr. Henry Foster in 1850, which operated for well over a century and drew visitors from across the country seeking its mineral-spring treatments. That spa-town legacy still shapes the village's historic core, visible in the Victorian-era architecture along its main streets — the same era and style as this farmhouse itself. The village sits roughly midway between Rochester and Syracuse, close enough to either for a real city's worth of shopping, healthcare, and airport access without living in the middle of it.
Agricultural Resources & Neighbor Networks
Cornell Cooperative Extension's Ontario County office is the local resource for anyone taking on hobby farming, orchards, or livestock on acreage like this, backed by Cornell's statewide agricultural research network — one of the country's most respected land-grant ag programs, headquartered less than two hours away in Ithaca. The Finger Lakes region is also one of the country's most established wine regions, with Canandaigua Lake's wine trail a short drive south — a working example of just how much this soil and climate can support when it's put to intentional use. Ontario County's own Farm Bureau chapter and several feed and tack suppliers serve the surrounding towns, the kind of practical local network anyone taking on a working farm actually leans on day to day.
Outdoor Recreation & Natural Surroundings
Canandaigua Lake, one of the larger Finger Lakes, is close enough for boating, fishing, and swimming without a long drive, and the surrounding wine trail makes for an easy weekend of tastings between one winery and the next. Seneca Lake and the rest of the Finger Lakes wine and hiking country are within reach too, giving this property genuine four-season recreation on top of the working land itself — summer on the water, fall for the wine trail and foliage, winter for the region's cross-country ski trails. For a property already built around three barns and open pasture, riding trails through the surrounding countryside are also worth asking neighbors and the county about; Finger Lakes horse country runs deep just south of here.
Listed on Zillow
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