The old home has seen better days but it is still a remarkable example of vernacular Virginia architecture, worthy of restoration. There is a stone basement with huge log beams supporting the first floor. Old wainscoting surrounds every room and the original mantels, millwork and flooring are intact. The home features four fieldstone fireplaces, four rooms, the typical two over two, and a large measure of historic ambiance. In the mid 1970s many young people looking for a simpler, less frenetic life gravitated to Rappahannock County in what is sometimes referred to as the “hippie invasion.” The Farm on Red Oak became home to a few of these folks who were happy to live without many of the modern conveniences like indoor plumbing and central heat. On summer evenings sometimes there was a procession of VW vans and old pickups chugging past the farm on the way to an impromptu sunset celebration at the fire tower. From those days until fairly recently, folks who paid little, if any, rent have occasionally inhabited the farm.
This information I copied from the sales page for this farm. At the beginning it was an apple orchard and farm. We learned about the hippies from the woman who had lived there. She was meeting the young man and his brother who we had spoken to earlier to commemorate the death of her son who was born and grew up in that house during the hippy faze of it's life. The photo of the footprints for me was the most poignant thing about the house. They are embedded in the cement on the front porch. and she knew what child had made the prints. She was from Australia and came to live there as a young bride. Said it was the coldest she had ever been! These people, strangers to us chose to meet at the end of the road, which was at the top of Red Oak Mountain and a place where the three friends spent most of their time as children. There is a fire tower there that commands a 360' view of the Virginia country side. Mom was happy to give us so many wonderful stories of living there in that day and age and assured us that all the young hippy men had gone on to have successful careers as craftsmen in their chosen trades. So much history here and so much love. The variety and beauty of the flowers still growing around the property a continued and living testament to that love. And what could have been an awkward situation instead became a time of sharing and blessings. What a beautiful Adventure this was to be sure!!
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