Well, friends. We made it- as you know if you follow us on Facebook. As much as I would like to say the journey was easy… it wasn’t. And building a farm right after moving- that’s not easy either. But, this is the life we have chosen.
We want our children to grow up being outside without the constant distractions of technology. To feel the dirt in their hands, the wind in their face.
We want to contribute to our local community by providing quality, non-GMO food- but that’s another post, my friends. The decisions we made to get here were not easy. It meant leaving a community and our first new home away from Florida where we had been our entire lives before moving to South Carolina in 2011.
It meant leaving our first homestead. The place we got married. The place we became a family. The place we really started to live.
The one where we originally thought we would raise all our children on. The one where we made plans on a daily basis. We planned and talked about where we would build our house on that property. We started a garden and hoop house with our children- with that homestead being the only on we would ever live on. We made plans for the future there, but that all changed when we saw this place (read about it here).
We feel that with great risk comes great rewards. By taking this leap of faith we would be able to build our dreams. Our goals. To bring Beau home full time to work on the farm. To be a family. Kinda like Little House on the Prairie but with modern convenience’s, ya feel me? Except for a dishwasher (ahem!). We don’t have one of those here yet on the homestead, but mama has her eyes peeled out for a portable dishwasher like this one– except I want a used one super cheap! Did you even know there was such a thing? I didn’t. I always grew up with a dishwasher but Beau didn’t. At least he has experience in hand washing every.single.dish.
But, enough rambling about my only real “want” in our new house. Back to the new homestead.
The house and property needs a lot of work but welcome to our new homestead in Virginia!
Our Road
The House and Outbuildings
This. This is our new home. Where our children and family will build new memories. It’s already been such a blessing to hear the kids laughing, screeching, and running up and down the stairs- already making memories.
Here is an outbuilding on the property. We aren’t really sure what it was used for. Maybe it was the original house on the homestead in the 1800s? Maybe another old tobacco curing barn- which would totally make sense since our property was an old tobacco plantation.
All we know is that this will eventually be our farm store, with a guest loft, for when my family or Beau’s comes to visit! (P.S. PLEASE come visit- we miss you guys!). Any friends are welcome too!
This. This is one amazing building. Again, we aren’t sure what it was in the 1800s. Maybe the slave quarters? Maybe it was the very first house on the homestead. All we know is that it has fallen down (see it leaning towards the front?). It also was used as a barn a long long long time ago. We aren’t sure when, but we are actively trying to piece the pieces together.
You can see the individual stalls in the back of the barn. Not to mention the GORGEOUS (totally requires yelling) compost where those stalls used to be. The front of it has the old loft window. We did go into the house being very careful. There is a trough that separates the front from the back. The loft is filled with old hay and old corn husks/cobs. It’s a beauty, ain’t it?
The Man Cave
Workshop. Need I say more?
No, but I will. And you’re welcome. 😉 This is an old workshop (it’s extremely BIG). You can’t see it all in the photo. It has electric…and a bathroom. It is very dirty and squirrels have come through the ceiling, but it has TONS of old tables from when the family that lived here before us made parachutes. We will be putting in some time to clean it up. The dirtiness hasn’t stopped Beau from working in there though. He has officially named it the ‘Man Cave’. The end.
Old Tobacco Curing Barn
Folks, this requires no words. Just pictures.
Updated: This lady totally forgot to put in the original post that we have an awesome root cellar that needs a little fixin’. So, stay tuned for homestead tour part 2 to see the inside of the buildings, including our awesome root cellar!
Other Land on the Property
Oh pasture. How you may be my favorite. Or maybe it’s a tie between the house, the land, the old buildings. I don’t know. I am just in love with it all.
We started fencing in (with electric fence) 10 acres as you can see in the photo. Yep- those are wooden posts that we have started to put in. Pretty groovy, huh? Well, the process wasn’t, but we should only have to do it once!
This is where we will keep our meat chickens. And egg chickens. And goats. And pigs. And rabbits. And whatever other animals we decide to add (hopefully a lamb, cow, and a donkey) in the next couple years. Mamma here has a weakness for farm animals, don’t ya think?
You see that pathway into the woods (right above the photo caption?). Start walking on that beautifully cleared path. Go about 1/4 of a mile through old trees, chirping birds, and hooting owls- you just feel a sense of peace come over you. Guess where that path leads? To a cemetery, my friends.
But not just any cemetery. That cemetery contains some of the owners of our house/land and surrounding land, their families, and their slaves. Some graves date back to the early to mid 1800s that we can read. Through the research we have done we can tell that cousins were married to cousins (normal back then) between 3-4 different families. Those families are buried there. Infants are buried there. Slaves are buried there. Soldiers are buried there.
The cemetery isn’t technically on our property we have come to find out- it is “adjacent” to it. Still, we are blessed to be able to walk back into a peaceful place, where our ancestors, soldiers, and history rest. It is beautiful.
We don’t have a great photo of it yet, but there is also a 2.5 acre pond on the property. You gotta take a little hike through some woods, but it’s there. We hear that there are pretty big bass, crappie, and catfish in it. We shall find out!
Finding Things
We’ve only been able to do a little exploring but we have found some pretty cool things.
We found this old newspaper up in the attic. We think it was from the 50’s or before the 50’s (thanks Aunt Lorraine for your research!). Notice the phone numbers. And, look! Squash was 10 cents a pound. Green beans- 25 cents for two pounds. In another section of the newspaper it said that a young man, with the last name of Pope, died at Duke University from horseplay with his Fraternity. We still can’t find any info about this online.
The family that lived here from the 70s until a couple of years ago built parachutes- like real ones. We have figured out their names. The husband is deceased, but the wife is still alive, and their son lives in Poland with his wife and three children- according to the obituary. I’d love to find him and ask him a few questions. It appears they bought this place in 1976 and lived here until a couple of years ago. We do know that there was an estate sale in August 2014 here.
Kids and Gus Playing Around the Homestead
I just had to throw these pic in because, well- these are my babies and they are cute. Amen.
Well, that’s it for now ladies and gents. Right now things are: old, dirty, hectic, and stressful… but we love it. And amen.
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I’m so jealous and happy for you! It’s beautiful, I’ve been waiting for these pictures. Thanks for sharing, I can’t wait to see what y’all do with the place!
I can’t wait to see what we do with the place too! 😉 😉
I’m trying to homestead but can’t fined any properties nor do I have a lot of money ie I have no money can you help?
I love your new homestead, what a treasure! Thanks for sharing.
~Taylor-Made Ranch~
Texas
Thanks for “taking the tour!”
Awww, it’s wonderful!!!!!!!!! So so happy for you 🙂
Thanks girlfriend!
I’m excited to hear about more finds and adventures on you homestead!
Thanks you for taking the tour and following us!
I love this, just love it! We built a home on land that had never been developed before. It makes it a lot more difficult to get a homestead up and running because you have to put in all of the infrastructure (and that takes time and money). But I am going to live here for the rest of my life, so we will eventually get it all done. Love all of the old buildings and treasures, can’t wait to follow the transformation process! Best of luck.
I bet that was a lot of work- building on land that wasn’t developed. We considered that before finding this place!
what a wonderful adventure!
What a great property. I can’t wait to hear more about it as you start getting everything just the way you want it. <3 Grats and best of luck.
Thanks so much Dulci!
I love it! Thanks for sharing with us.
I love your photos! What a beautiful property!
Thanks for the tour! There is so much potential for that land and the buildings. Good luck as you progress through establishing your homestead. http://southernurbanhomesteader.com
Jen,
What an amazing journey you are on! I rejoice with you and your family at so great a blessing and opportunity. Thank you for taking us on a tour. I look forward to our next trip! My husband and I enjoy walking through old cemeteries and reading the headstones. Oh, and Yes, I do remember when orange juice and milk were in glass jars! 😉
Hahaha Rhonda about the orange juice! I, too, love walking through old cemeteries. 🙂
Thank you for giving us the tour! Since you first mentioned this place I knew it was going to be amazing and wonderful! I have a similar dream and I am drawn to historic properties as well. Do you know if your property was named? I hope you can find out more information. I am sending you many blessings on your journey! I look forward to seeing everything as you settle in! It must have been an epic move! Great job!
We do know what it was named! We are hoping to dig up some more info before sharing. 🙂
Can I just say I LOVE Virginia! Maybe I’m biased, I was born and raised here, but since moving to RURAL southwest Va about 2 and a half years ago, I fell even more in love with this beautiful state! Something about rural VA makes a girl wanna farm!! 🙂 Good luck with your adjustment and your move! You have an amazing property!!!
Thanks Lauren!
OH SO WONDERFUL!! I LOVE old buildings, homes and barns…. SO much exploring to do and such a wonderful family!! So excited for you guys. I LOVE your homestead and SO enjoyed speaking with you today on my radio show…. Can’t wait to put it live later in April…
Blessings to you and yours lovely lady and look forward to having you join me again…
Tam
Thanks so much Tammy! I absolutely love your radio show and was blessed and honored to be a part of it!
Love the pictures of your new place but I have one question. Why does your dishwasher have to be portable?
It needs to be portable at this point because we aren’t sure of the wiring in the kitchen, and we aren’t ready to remodel the kitchen just yet! And, the portable dishwasher will give us an awesome island until we can remodel it!
What an opportunity — and challenge. We lived in Haiti for nearly 2 years and were amazed at how fast we adapt to new environments. A lot of people thought it was a major sacrifice. I just plain wasn’t. The blessings so far out-weighed the difficulties it wasn’t something we even considered. Will have to say that imported mayonnaise at $5+ when stateside it was selling at $.39 was the major irk. However Argentine steak sold the same as hamburger. Great trade-offs. Know you are discovering the same thing. It will only be a minor something that causes the “pang.” Be blessed and have FUN.
Thank you for sharing, what an awesome story. My husband and I will be searching for property soon once we finish the sale of our property back in New York State and I am so excited looking forward in beginning our own homesteading. I was a member of local wholesale group that wanted our fresh vegetables, and non GMO products from local farms. My family and I went through a journey to making healthier choices to insure our family was in a better healthier place. Thank you again for sharing about everything. That was incredibly beautiful.
Sincerely, Aida