Our farm name comes from the Thorn Apple trees on our Pennsylvania farm. A variety of the hawthorn tree, the Thorn Apple tree is covered with prominent thorns. This foreboding presence is made truly beautiful, if treacherous, with small white flowers in the spring, and a small red fruit in the fall that resembles tiny apples.

We are located in the Elk State forest of SE McKean County. Fresh air, clean spring water and beautiful vistas make living here wonderful. Our alpacas make it perfect! Our tiny village of Liberty is delightfully simple and removed from the hustle and bustle of the suburban world of shopping malls. Here a “mall” is a tool used to split wood! It is 8 miles to the nearest town, and we love it. This is our lifestyle.

Thorn Apple Farm sits on the site of a one-room school house for PA School District No. 8. The original building (as seen in 1915) has been added onto over the years but you can still see the classic American
architecture in the main house. Through the years the farm has had every kind of animal but is now home to alpacas. Our alpacas enjoy the climate, pastures and a gin-clear mountain run that affords a place to cush and cool in the summer. The native brook trout don’t seem to mind the added guests. We enjoy our alpacas every day of the year.

Talking about alpacas is one of our favorite things to do on the farm. We love to show off the fleece, talk about our breeding program and share alpaca stories. We call it alpacalizing.