About Briar Rose Farm

A Bit of History

The Animals

The Sawmill

The deeds to this farm go back to hand written documents in the Madison County court house in Marshall, North Carolina. George W. Davis brought his family to the land in the late 1800's and built the cabin where he and his wife, Lydia, raised 4 children. He cleared the land, built the log barn and several of the outbuildings. Lydia sold the farm in the late 40's to Herman and Inez Freeman.

It was the Freeman's that built the large tobacco barn and moved the cabin to the approximate site where it stands today. They then had the curent farm house in 1951 for the sum of $495. Electricity came to Spring Creek in 1954. George and Herman both worked the farm with horses. Our neighbor, Roy Mathis still works his farm with mules; Bert and Queenie.

Looking across the creek to the east, you can still see the crop rows where corn had been planted on the steep slope. Tobacco was raised on the lower portion of the hayfield opposite the cabin. It was the main and often the only source of income for these families, as it was for most families in the area.

According to Ruth Davis who was born in the little cabin, she and her sister made mud pies and "baked" them on the rocks in front of the main house. They went to bring the cow down from the mountain for milking keeping their bare feet warm by finding warm "cowpies" to stand in. A pencil received as a Christmas present was a prized gift. These rural farm families went to town only once a year.

Ruth remembers Indians camping in the lower hay field. Many arrowheads have been found as that field was plowed and made ready for the young tobacco plants. Several arrowheads have been found recently in the upper barnyard.