Turtlehead Farm’s story began a new chapter in the mid-1950s when Ruth Brown, owner and director of Four Winds Camp, gifted the land to the Helsell family. In 1970, Jack and Jan Helsell began shaping the property, starting with a circular blade sawmill. Using timber harvested and milled on-site, they built a hewn-log homestead on the site of an old turkey farm.

Jack loved history and collected horse-drawn farm equipment. In those early days, the Helsell family used draft horses to plow, disc, harrow, mow, and clear the fields. Over the years, the farm grew to include a handcrafted log guest cabin, a gambrel-roofed barn, a machine shop, blacksmith and woodworking shops, a greenhouse, and a large organic garden.

Jack and Jan made Turtlehead Farm their home until Jack’s passing in 2018. Jan, now 94, still lives in the main house overlooking the property. Known for their leadership as owners and directors of Camp Nor’Wester on Lopez Island, they were also active members of the Orcas Island community and owners of West Sound Lumber Company.

Their youngest daughter, Ellen Helsell, returned to the farm in 2007 after co-founding The Harbor School on Vashon Island and living there with her family for 25 years. As one of the next-generation stewards, she came back to combine her love of horses and the land, creating new ways to share the farm’s abundance with others. Today, as owner and manager of Turtlehead Farm, LLC, Ellen spends her summers welcoming guests to experience the joy and beauty of farm life.