About / History
Slip back to a simpler time and a slower pace, where an occasional logging truck is the only traffic and the sounds of nature prevail.
Fully restored and thoughtfully improved upon every year, OLD SPRING FARM BED & BREAKFAST offers country living at it’s best in Blue Ridge Wine Country fifty miles south of Roanoke, VA.
This area has an indelible past. Alexander Rakes built the 2-story farmhouse in 1883 with money made from moonshine (or so the story goes).
In the teens and twenties, it was forgivable and pardonable to make a living bootlegging when a gallon of moonshine selling for $5.00 put more food on the table than a bushel of corn selling for 50 cents. The practice of making bootleg survives to this day, giving this area and it’s surrounds the distinction of being called the “Moonshine Capital of the World”.
A few artifacts of the art remained, when OLD SPRING FARM relocated to Charity, VA in 1983 in continuance of breeding a spotted horse known as an Appaloosa. Descendants of one of the farm’s stallions, Red Eagle’s Peacock, who was inducted into the Appaloosa Hall of Fame in 1996, carry on his bloodline to this day.
A walking tour of the farm at feeding time affords exercise and the opportunity to view the latest foals and learn about Appaloosa history.
The joint venture of Bed & Breakfast and working farm began in 1997 and has quickly become one of Virginia’s most desirable getaways. A hearty breakfast for the gourmand is served on Apple-patterned Franciscan Earthenware accompanied by vintage family silverware. Expect wholesome meals with a gourmet touch with farm-grown fruits, vegetables and eggs.
Recognition
OLD SPRING FARM BED & BREAKFAST is fortunate and appreciative of the prestigious recognition it has received.
BEST BED & BREAKFAST IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA – City Magazine, Roanoke, Virginia
GOURMET MAGAZINE – August 2003
PATCHWORK PILGRIMAGE – by Barbara Lazear Ascher
Breakfast at the rustic 1883 house means eggs from Pabst’s chickens, vegetables from her garden, jams from her fruit trees, and spicy chutney (or “Mountain Jam,” as they call it) unlike any I’ve tasted.
WASHINGTON POST – Sunday, June 29, 2003
ONE OF FARM STAYS IN MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA, Elissa Leibowitz
WASHINGTON POST – Wednesday, January 28, 2004
THINK FLOYD – by Julian Smith
“Escapes” – STAYING THERE: OLD SPRING FARM B & B is a working 25 acre farm about 30 minutes from Floyd, up and over the Blue Ridge Parkway in Woolwine. Comfortable rooms in the 1883 farmhouse or outbuildings are $125 – $150 a night.
