The Purdue family protected 20 acres of historic farmland adjacent to the Engle Brown property. The Purdue’s lineage on Whidbey Island traces back to the 1870s with the Sherman side of the family to the 1890s. Wilbur Purdue, who operates Prairie Bottom Farm on the property, said “We are making it our mission to not only farm in a way that sustains the prairie, but in a way that helps the community through fresh local produce and agriculture.”