Ledyard — Gales Ferry landmark Alice Acres, which the community rallied around during financial woes in 2009 and 2012, has been foreclosed on.

According to court documents, the 20-acre farm, nursery and ice cream shop at 39 Military Highway passed into the ownership of Farm Credit East, an agricultural credit cooperative, on May 2.

The foreclosure was due to a mortgage that owner Peter Bargmann took out on the property, which left him $372,404 in debt, according to a filing by the cooperative. The land is listed as being worth $515,000, according to the judgment of strict foreclosure filed by Farm Credit East.

However, Bargmann said in an interview that he has a plan to buy back the farm and pay off his debts, though on Tuesday he said it was too soon to disclose the details.

"Once this whole thing is done, we'll open back up and hopefully be better than ever," Bargmann said.

He has said his first priority has always been to hold onto the property, which has been continuously operated as a family farm since the land was granted by the king of England in the 17th century. Bargmann has owned and operated the farm since 1995, taking over from his mother after returning from his job as a commercial fisherman in Alaska.

"I'm the privileged caretaker of that land," he said, describing it as an essential part of his family.

Cows and Cones, the ice cream shop, has been a popular spot for Gales Ferry residents and beyond, open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and had prompted weekly speculation on social media by residents wondering when the business would open for the season. Bargmann is known around the village as "Farmer Pete" and has hosted regular tours for schoolchildren each year and hayrides during the fall.

Attorney Michael J. Kopsick, representing Farm Credit East, confirmed last week that the creditor took ownership of the farm. While the foreclosure means neither business has been able to open for the summer, Bargmann said he hopes to get both up and running as soon as possible.

Residents first rallied around him in 2009, when a rainy summer season caused a serious downturn in his nursery business. Residents held a cookout, silent auction and bake sale and chose to overpay for produce to try and chip in for the farm, which re-opened the next year.

But a stroke in March 2010 and a series of successive medical issues impaired Bargmann's ability to work.

Alice Acres filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy protection, used specifically for farmers and fishermen, in 2012. The bankruptcy delayed the foreclosure and sale of the farm, though he later put the business up for sale for $1.2 million after another difficult season and mounting medical bills. After careful consideration, Bargmann re-opened the business the following year, telling The Day at the time that he had a turnaround with his health and had never wanted to sell his property.

He said he has made over $100,000 in Chapter 12 bankruptcy payments since last year.

However, a list of creditors generated through the bankruptcy included some who allege they lent Bargmann money and had not yet been paid back in full. One resident of Gales Ferry alleged that he lent Bargmann more than $300,000 between 2004 and 2010, and in total 12 people and companies are listed as unsecured creditors, or those who have no claim to any property, in the bankruptcy filing. The foreclosure will benefit secured creditors, such as the mortgage company.

Andrea Carpenter also said she lent money to Bargmann on behalf of her parents to help out Cows and Cones, which she said meant a lot to her as a child, on a number of occasions in 2014. She won a judgment against him in February for $43,000.

Bargmann said it was a "mistake to take the money" from people that offered to lend it to him to keep the business going and he intends to pay it off. Of his debts, he said after years of medical difficulties, his health is improving and he intends to become debt-free.

"I've always had full intentions of paying it back," Bargmann said. "I just want to open up the farm."

n.lynch@theday.com