Crystal Rock Dairy Farm, nestled in the hills of Livermore, Maine, has been owned and operated by my father-in-law, Lionel Castonguay since 1940. We purchased seventy acres from Lionel which had several robust maple trees that he had protected for many years, as he thought they would make good maple syrup someday. Our family continued to care for them by thinning out the oak and ash trees to encourage the maples growth, while cultivating his and our dream of fine maple syrup production. We maintained the woodlot and, with help from extended family, laid the foundation for the sap house. A year later, from that foundation grew a productive sugar bush with fifteen miles of tubing connecting state-of-the art sugaring equipment and custom stainless-steel piping.  When the weather started to warm up, the sap began to flow. With guidance from family and friends, who were experienced local maple syrup producers, we finally reaped

what we had sown. I'll never forget the sight, smell and taste of that first batch of light amber, full-bodied syrup.

The health of Crystal Rock maples is due to ample underground water flow between Hackett Hill and Round Pond throughout the year. The unique mineral content of the area's high-quality soil also nourishes our maples and renders their syrup's distinctly rich and buttery flavor, appreciated around the country and world. To date, Crystal Rock Syrup has been delivered to over a dozen countries from Australia to Zambia!

In 2000, Lionel sold his dairy cows and shortly after Crystal Rock Dairy Farm was dissolved. However, Lionel's dream of fine maple syrup production was finally realized; thus, it was only fitting to carry on the name -- “Crystal Rock Maple”. He helped

us bottle up until his 95th birthday and now Tom and Janet Gould, with the help of family, continue to bottle the syrup he dreamed of over 50 years ago.