Help Save 300 Year Old Family Farm
Donation protected
Welcome to 32 Springs Farm at Walnut Hill!
All the beautiful farms in Virginia are being turned into subdivisions. History is being plowed over by developers who care more about making a buck than preserving history, and our 300-year-old family farm was steps away from a similar fate…
Our 100-acre farm has been in our family since 1818, when my great, great, great grandfather bought it from another farmer. Sadly, after buying the farm he died shortly thereafter. His wife is one of many women in our family’s history that saved the farm and kept it going through grit, determination, and hard work.
1818 is where our story begins with 32 Springs Farm, but the farm itself goes back long before 1818, well before the foundation of the United States! To say it's chocked full of history would be an understatement.
In it’s hay day, our farm had everything from cows to horses to chickens, making it a staple in the Stafford, Virginia community. The farm was kept going by the strong women in the family.
In 1918, my great grandmother was left alone with her five small children after her husband died of the Spanish flu. People told her to sell, to move away, that a woman could not and should not operate a farm. She and her children plowed the fields, sold hay, sold eggs and did what they had to do and saved the farm.
Now, over 100 years later, my mom has done the same.
The last 20 years has not been kind to our family farm. Our family was divided and many wanted to sell. The few of us that wanted it stay a farm did not have the money or the manpower to upkeep the farmland. And to make matters worse, the farmhouse my grandfather grew up in (which dates back almost 100 years) was vandalized five years ago. Everything was destroyed, from the original windows to my grandparents record player from the 1940s.
All hope seemed lost, and in 2020, some of the family decided to force a sale and sell the farm to a developer.
My mom, who grew up on the farm and even raised her own pigs, cows, and chickens, knew she had to do something. And by some miracle, was able to put a deal together to save the farm from being turned into a subdivision.
To be quite honest with you, we're all still a little in shock.
Three times in the last two hundred years, this farm has been saved by strong women. How about that!
Now it’s time to roll up our sleeves – there is a lot of work to be done.
So here's the plan: We love this farm. We want everyone to be able to come and enjoy this farm and make it a staple in the Stafford, VA community again. Whether it's coming to pick berries with the family, have an engagement photo shoot, a relaxing Saturday picnic, or just to enjoy the scenery, we want everyone to come and enjoy what we love so much!
But before we can make this a reality, we need to fix up quite a bit. Take a look at some of the farm photos below. Beautiful, right? But it needs a lot of work.
Do you think you can help us?
We know $45,000 is a lot, but this will help us get things better than ever on our farm, so we can open it up to the community and share the miracle of this beautiful part of God’s creation with everyone.
Every penny we raise will go to putting back up all the miles of fallen down fences, repairing the collapsed barns, clearing the overgrown fields, making the drive accessible, fixing the old farmhouse, and step by step, day by day returning the farm to the beautiful nature preserve we intend it to be.
These days, everyone needs a happy place. A safe beautiful spot where you can take a deep breath and get away from the craziness of our world. Your support can help us make 32 Springs Farm that place!
We are so grateful that you took the time to read a little bit about our family's heart and soul. Farm living is what we love best in this world, and we would love to bring you along for the journey!
Here's the original farm lane! Our first project is to cut down all these cedar trees and fix the lane. If you drive a small car, you probably wouldn't be able to make it down right now.
This is the old farmhouse. See the tarps on the windows? All 23 windows were completely smashed to bits. Even the window frames were damaged. We want to be able to rent out the house, but it needs new windows, a new roof, and inside repairs.
See the rock wall at the bottom? That's what they used as fencing back in the day, dating back before 1818. You can still see it in places on the farm.
These are some of the old barns on the barn lot. This is where we used to keep baby cows and their mamas after they were born. We had to keep them up there to make sure they were healthy before they joined the herd. As you can see, it needs a lot of reenforcing and rebuilding. But here's a cool history fact, the first photo is the original barn dating back before 1818. To be honest, we really don't know how old it is. We just know it's old!
This one is a little sad. This was our old hay barn. It collapsed a few years back because it was never reenforced. This barn also dates back to the 1800s. We don't know if we can save it, but we can use some of the wood to preserve the other barns!
This is the old spring house at the bottom of the barn lot. Wonder where the name 32 Springs comes from? There are exactly 32 natural springs on the property! Should we be bottling spring water? Maybe...
Cue "Wide Open Spaces" by the Dixie Chicks! There are 100 acres of wide open farm land. For the time being, we're planning on leasing our fields to local farmers just to have someone working the land while we fix things up. Doesn't it look like a great spot for a picnic and a glass of wine?
Last but definitely not least, here is my mama! This was taken the first day back to the farm after she got the call that she was able to save it. Can you tell how excited she is? You can take the girl out of the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the girl!
All the beautiful farms in Virginia are being turned into subdivisions. History is being plowed over by developers who care more about making a buck than preserving history, and our 300-year-old family farm was steps away from a similar fate…
Our 100-acre farm has been in our family since 1818, when my great, great, great grandfather bought it from another farmer. Sadly, after buying the farm he died shortly thereafter. His wife is one of many women in our family’s history that saved the farm and kept it going through grit, determination, and hard work.
1818 is where our story begins with 32 Springs Farm, but the farm itself goes back long before 1818, well before the foundation of the United States! To say it's chocked full of history would be an understatement.
In it’s hay day, our farm had everything from cows to horses to chickens, making it a staple in the Stafford, Virginia community. The farm was kept going by the strong women in the family.
In 1918, my great grandmother was left alone with her five small children after her husband died of the Spanish flu. People told her to sell, to move away, that a woman could not and should not operate a farm. She and her children plowed the fields, sold hay, sold eggs and did what they had to do and saved the farm.
Now, over 100 years later, my mom has done the same.
The last 20 years has not been kind to our family farm. Our family was divided and many wanted to sell. The few of us that wanted it stay a farm did not have the money or the manpower to upkeep the farmland. And to make matters worse, the farmhouse my grandfather grew up in (which dates back almost 100 years) was vandalized five years ago. Everything was destroyed, from the original windows to my grandparents record player from the 1940s.
All hope seemed lost, and in 2020, some of the family decided to force a sale and sell the farm to a developer.
My mom, who grew up on the farm and even raised her own pigs, cows, and chickens, knew she had to do something. And by some miracle, was able to put a deal together to save the farm from being turned into a subdivision.
To be quite honest with you, we're all still a little in shock.
Three times in the last two hundred years, this farm has been saved by strong women. How about that!
Now it’s time to roll up our sleeves – there is a lot of work to be done.
So here's the plan: We love this farm. We want everyone to be able to come and enjoy this farm and make it a staple in the Stafford, VA community again. Whether it's coming to pick berries with the family, have an engagement photo shoot, a relaxing Saturday picnic, or just to enjoy the scenery, we want everyone to come and enjoy what we love so much!
But before we can make this a reality, we need to fix up quite a bit. Take a look at some of the farm photos below. Beautiful, right? But it needs a lot of work.
Do you think you can help us?
We know $45,000 is a lot, but this will help us get things better than ever on our farm, so we can open it up to the community and share the miracle of this beautiful part of God’s creation with everyone.
Every penny we raise will go to putting back up all the miles of fallen down fences, repairing the collapsed barns, clearing the overgrown fields, making the drive accessible, fixing the old farmhouse, and step by step, day by day returning the farm to the beautiful nature preserve we intend it to be.
These days, everyone needs a happy place. A safe beautiful spot where you can take a deep breath and get away from the craziness of our world. Your support can help us make 32 Springs Farm that place!
We are so grateful that you took the time to read a little bit about our family's heart and soul. Farm living is what we love best in this world, and we would love to bring you along for the journey!
Here's the original farm lane! Our first project is to cut down all these cedar trees and fix the lane. If you drive a small car, you probably wouldn't be able to make it down right now.
This is the old farmhouse. See the tarps on the windows? All 23 windows were completely smashed to bits. Even the window frames were damaged. We want to be able to rent out the house, but it needs new windows, a new roof, and inside repairs.
See the rock wall at the bottom? That's what they used as fencing back in the day, dating back before 1818. You can still see it in places on the farm.
These are some of the old barns on the barn lot. This is where we used to keep baby cows and their mamas after they were born. We had to keep them up there to make sure they were healthy before they joined the herd. As you can see, it needs a lot of reenforcing and rebuilding. But here's a cool history fact, the first photo is the original barn dating back before 1818. To be honest, we really don't know how old it is. We just know it's old!
This one is a little sad. This was our old hay barn. It collapsed a few years back because it was never reenforced. This barn also dates back to the 1800s. We don't know if we can save it, but we can use some of the wood to preserve the other barns!
This is the old spring house at the bottom of the barn lot. Wonder where the name 32 Springs comes from? There are exactly 32 natural springs on the property! Should we be bottling spring water? Maybe...
Cue "Wide Open Spaces" by the Dixie Chicks! There are 100 acres of wide open farm land. For the time being, we're planning on leasing our fields to local farmers just to have someone working the land while we fix things up. Doesn't it look like a great spot for a picnic and a glass of wine?
Last but definitely not least, here is my mama! This was taken the first day back to the farm after she got the call that she was able to save it. Can you tell how excited she is? You can take the girl out of the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the girl!
Fundraising team (3)
Katie Brown
Organizer
Stafford, VA
Ann Brown
Beneficiary
Emily Brown
Team member