Our Farm

Our Historic Farm

The Old Wheat Road

County Road 24, the road running directly in front of the house, was one of the first main roads from Columbus to ports on Lake Erie and later, on to connection with the Erie Canal. This road sprang up from an earlier Indian trail along the Allegany Escarpment. Known to local white settlers as “The Wheat Road”, the Worthington-New Haven Road was built in 1820 and was one of the first state funded road projects in Ohio. Sellers of grains frequently used this road to send their products to points East via a connecting water route. This road was already well established during the time this farmhouse was built. This explains why our Federal-style house is set back away from the road, and not close to the road as many Federal homes in this area.

County Road 24 aka Old State Road

This road later gained importance as a shunpike and is still used for that purpose today.

The Wood Plantation

This 160-year old farmhouse was built in a very historic part of Ohio.  The farm is located just north of the Greenville Treaty Line on land originally intended as reservation for the local American Indian peoples through the Greenville Treaty.  This land was opened for homesteading by white settlers in the early 19^th century. A small Quaker community sprang up here in the 1820’s.  A man named Reuben Wood and his father Jonathon Wood of Connecticut were recorded as relocating here in the 1830’s.  Reuben built this Federal-style house between 1835 and 1845, possibly earlier.  This farm was referred to as “the plantation” in the will of Reuben Wood dated 1848.

William Wood is elderly gentleman seated at right. – cira 1900

The Silos

These beautiful brick silos were built during the heyday of silo building, around 1914. Glazed brick silos were considered the best quality of the day, since the glazing provides a slick interior surface in the silo facilitating the easy drop of silage. Two granaries which currently serve as storage sheds, where built around the same time as the silos. The silos are currently not in use but serve as an attractive icon for our farm.

Underground Railroad

cira 1900

Quakers have always opposed slavery and as a result, many Quakers in this area were avid supporters of the Abolition Movement and the Underground Railroad.  I suspect that this house may have housed passengers on the Underground Railroad, but I am lacking the hard evidence for this.  The home of David Wood, brother of Reuben, the builder of this house, is located a short distance from this farm. It is documented that David Wood’s home was a stop on the Underground Railroad. It is very possible that this farm could have occasionally housed runaway slaves too.  Many of the original doors are still in the house, including my closet door.  My bedroom closet is VERY large, big enough to be a dormer bedroom, which is unusual for house this age.  The interesting fact is that there is a very old lock on the inside of the original door on the bedroom closet.  Why would there be a lock on the inside of a closet?

Our Modern Farm

In October of 2003, I purchased the Wood Homestead and 5 acres of land. I feel the house has undergone four remodelings since it was originally built. It’s been updated with modern windows, vinyl siding and carpeting. There has been some structural changes, but very little.  The original cedar shake roof is hiding under the current standing seam roof.

On December 20, 2003, I began my foray into chicken farming by purchasing an organic laying flock of 80. I expanded later that year to a flock of 200 layers and then the year following to 500 layers.  Currently, I have 450 layers in production. I have also expanded the farm offerings to include a produce CSA and a year ‘round meat CSA.

Besides raising laying hens, we also raise chemical-free pastured broilers, a small flock of sheep, geese, feeder pigs and vegetable gardens.