White Farm: Home of Surplus Office Equipment and Confiscated Goods

We recently talked about the state’s Recycling Program and its relationship with White Farm. It is the site of a paper/cardboard baler that compacts the shredded materials that are then sold to recycling vendors. That was just part of the White Farm story.

White Farm is a historic farm property on Clinton Street in Concord. The farm was established in 1846 by Nathaniel White, who ran for governor (did not win); operated the first stagecoach service between Concord and Hanover; and was active in the Underground Railroad. His farm is now owned by the state.

As part of its commitment to re-purposing as much as possible, the state has used White Farm’s main complex to house surplus materials, ranging from desks, office chairs and file cabinets to a dandy collection of three-ringed binders in every possible size and color. These items are then priced and resold to state agencies or the general public.

But, that’s not all there is. State employee Tim Lynch travels monthly to five northeastern airports, including Logan, and picks up items that have been confiscated by TSA officials or have been left behind in unclaimed luggage (including the luggage). He then brings the “loot” back to White Farm where it is sorted, priced and sold. “I spend a lot of time online to determine the value of the items Tim brings back,” said Jason Wright, manager of the surplus warehouse. “I don’t want to overprice things, but I don’t want to give them away, either,” he said. Typically, if something is in good shape, Wright will price it at about 50% of full value or less.  The White Farm operation is self-funded making these “treasures” all the more valuable to the employees who work there.On the day we were there, we saw items we couldn’t believe travelers had either tried to carry onboard the plane or accidentally left behind. There were two sizable bins of pocket knives; an assortment of small power tools; two fixtures of sunglasses; lots of New England Patriots garb; a guitar and a full wetsuit. There were hundreds of men’s belts; designer purses and about 100 laptop bags; electronics (Bluetooth speakers, earbuds and headphones); and an array of snow globes. Many of the things have never been out of the box.  It was a thrift store shopper’s mecca. But, the farm is open to the public just one day a week – Monday. “It gets really busy here on Mondays,” said Lynch. “We have regulars who come and pick through every Monday…mostly looking for stuff they will resell.”

State employees can call ahead and arrange to swing by on any day of the workweek. We encourage you to visit.

Then there are the two annual live auctions at the farm. These have been called the “state’s biggest yard sale” by the Concord Monitor. Vehicles, boats, retired police cars, snow mobiles, anything and everything that has been seized or put aside is auctioned off.  At these auctions, many hundreds of people bid on everything from file cabinets to medical equipment to huge road-construction equipment. The surplus items from state and municipal governments have in recent years brought in between $106,000 and $228,000 for municipal items, and from $213,000 to as much as $628,000 for state items.

We thank our colleagues at White Farm, a hard-working team of three, Jason Wright, Tim Lynch and Marcia Murphy (who keeps all the books balanced) for keeping the surplus available for new owners, off the scrap piles and out of our dumps. Job well done!