DAMARISCOTTA - A different model of elder community is coming to Maine. Thanks to many generous donations, on Dec. 15 the nonprofit organization Inn Along the Way was able to purchase the historic Chapman farm on Main Street in Damariscotta from the family that has owned the land for nine generations. In the months and years to come, the property will become home to an interdependent community of elders and caregivers, as well as a destination point offering lodging, dining and other activities to the general public.

The Chapman farm consists of 38 acres of rolling fields and a pond. Area residents may be most familiar with the farm's white farmhouse and huge red hay barn and milking shed, which are visible from Main Street. People will also remember the farm as the site of the Miles Memorial Hospital Rummage Sale for many years. When asked why the family decided to sell the farm to the nonprofit, family member John Gallagher said, 'David Chapman had the opportunity to sell the property many times in the past for much greater sums, but David thought of his community as his home and could not see any outside commercial enterprise improving his community by developing his land. The family felt that Inn Along the Way will better this community, and that is what David and Madeline would have wanted were they still here.'