Maybe it's the beauty. Maybe it's some connection with nature. Maybe it's an element of sentimentality.

But human beings can form an emotional attachment, a bond, with a parcel of land.

It's been about 16 months since Boyd and fellow Lebanon County residents Eric Fetter and Justin Bollinger purchased historic Elizabeth Farms for just under $4 million at a public auction. Located northeast of Brickerville at 262 Hopeland Road in Elizabeth Township, the 160-acre Elizabeth Farms was previously owned by the influential Coleman family for eight generations.

While the property certainly has very good commercial potential, profits weren't necessarily the force driving its acquisition.

"It's more than a financial move," said Boyd. "I wouldn't have spent $4 million if I was trying to make money. It's for the family. It's for the community to come out and enjoy. Land is always great to own. It's really just about telling the story of American agriculture."

Named for Elizabeth Huber, daughter of the property's original owner, John Jacob Huber, Elizabeth Farms and Elizabeth Furnace were purchased by the Coleman family in the early 1770s. Boyd and his partners bought Elizabeth Farms from Bill Coleman, who had owned the property since 1976.

"It was an opportunity," said Boyd, who operates a poultry farm in South Lebanon Township and produces chickens for Bell & Evans. "That's one of the things that led us to it. It's an opportunity to tell the story of agriculture.

"The Colemans were some of the wealthiest families in Pennsylvania," continued Boyd. "From that farm, all along Route 322 to Cornwall, all that land, the Colemans owned most of it. When it comes to the history of the farm, there's a lot of value to me and my partners."

A functioning tree farm and thriving agricultural homestead, Elizabeth Farms is home to Scottish Highland cattle, lambs, goats, donkeys, indoor and outdoor event venues, an agriculture junkyard playground, a pumpkin patch and even a corn maze in the fall. But under the new ownership, a greater emphasis has been placed on agritourism or "agritainment," a combination of tourism and farm activities that provides components of entertainment and education for visitors.

"It's about the interaction of people," said Boyd. "My wife and I, and our family, we love to host. Anything we can do to get kids off screens. Some people think food comes from grocery stores."

Boyd said that Elizabeth Farms could explore the possibility of a farm-to-table restaurant in the future. But for now, Boyd and his colleagues are focused on the present, with a healthy respect to the past.

"I think that's why it was so hard for them to sell," said Boyd, of the past connections between the Colemans and Elizabeth Farms. "I have the same connection to my farm in South Lebanon. I want to pass it on to my boys."

For additional information about Elizabeth Farms, go to http://www.elizabethfarms.com.