A local summertime institution in Cape Elizabeth is closing after five decades.

Maxwell’s Farm, which has offered pick-your-own strawberries every summer since the 1970s, announced abruptly on its Facebook page Sunday that the 2024 season, which just ended for the family farm, would be its last.

“Believe when we say, we feel the weight of nine generations in this decision,” the farm’s owners posted. “After years of painstaking consideration and attempts to adapt to the challenges of farming in the current landscape, we have come to the very hard decision to close Maxwell’s Farm.”

The owners mentioned “growing challenges for small family farms and increasing barriers at every turn,” but indicated there was no single reason for the closing. They only cited “a myriad of realities” as being behind the decision.

“We have poured love, stress, sweat, sleepless nights, and so much more into this land, this lifestyle, and this community,” the owners wrote.

The post invited fans to post memories to social media, and many did, reacting with support.

“I have tears in my eyes as I write this,” said one commenter. “Like so many others, I have been going to Maxwell's since I was a kid. Every year I go and pick a ton to make jam. I will miss the wonderful berries, the memories.”

Another commenter wrote: “Summers will never be the same. You have been a tradition in my family since I was a child and since my own children could pick strawberries. Thank you for the memories and sweet fruit.”