A historic farmhouse at Old Rucker Farm in Alpharetta is getting a second life as a community education center. Alpharetta Rotarians are contributing construction expertise and labor to the effort to turn the old structure into a space built for teaching. The project centers on the 1.2-acre farm at 900 Rucker Road, a longtime fixture of the city’s agriculture program that now doubles as a classroom, garden and gathering spot for residents of all ages.
A FOX 5 Atlanta video covers the restoration of the historic farmhouse and its conversion into a community education center. Alpharetta secured a $300,000 Lowe’s Community Impact Grant for work at Old Rucker Farm.
The farmhouse itself has long served a practical role on the property. Per rotary6900.org, the building is used for teaching, growing seedlings and other ecological projects for the city, and its renovation is meant to give those classes and organizational events a more suitable home. The Rotary account notes that Alpharetta Rotarians have contributed construction expertise and general labor to the effort, logging a total of 300 hours of service at Old Rucker Farm during the 2023/2024 Rotary year.
A City-Owned Farm With Deep Volunteer Roots
Old Rucker Farm belongs to the City of Alpharetta. Alpharetta Rotary is renovating the farmhouse. The grounds already include an organically grown vegetable, fruit and herb garden, a native pollinator garden, community garden plots and an outdoor classroom — infrastructure that predates the current farmhouse work and gives the education center a built-in curriculum.
The push to formalize that teaching space fits into a larger initiative. The city’s Community Agriculture Program, developed in 2018 with help from residents and community organizations, launched a $650,000 fundraising campaign for a planned Agriculture & Sustainability Education Center, as reported by Appen Media. The outlet describes the city’s goal as transforming the farmhouse at Old Rucker Farm into an educational center that would provide environmental learning, agricultural workshops and community programs for all ages.
Year-Round Classes And Hands-On Learning
The center is intended to support year-round classes and hands-on learning tied to food security, sustainability and environmental stewardship. Construction tied to one of Alpharetta’s nine bond projects was scheduled to start in April, alongside additional improvements planned for the park.
Old Rucker Farm isn’t the only historic site drawing city investment right now. Alpharetta’s City Council unanimously approved a $1.9 million contract with Hasbun Construction on Dec. 1 for Farm House Heritage Park, a separate project, Appen Media reported. Plans there call for a 12-foot boardwalk path, an overlook, historical markers, ADA-compliant accessibility and an entrance plaza, with construction expected to take less than a year.
For residents watching Alpharetta’s agricultural corner of town, the farmhouse work represents a tangible step toward the kind of year-round programming city officials and Rotary volunteers have been building toward since 2018.
