On the Farm: Folsom
Seven miles west of Marion, Alabama
We pull down Folsom’s long, dusty, tree-lined drive, and the owner of the farm, Charles, greets us at the car window with a shovel in hand. “Welcome!” he shouts over the idling engine. “I was just getting ready to go plant a pomegranate tree.” We learned pretty quickly that he’s always getting ready to embark on some kind of seemingly impossible-sounding project (like bringing back the nearly extinct Long Pine trees or routing a stream and waterfall behind the farmhouse where we’re staying).
Charles is a farmer. And so was his dad. And his uncles. And his grandfather. And four others before that. This same farm has been worked by the same family for seven generations–dating all the way back to the 1819 when William Moore, a wagon maker from South Carolina, came to Alabama just before it came into statehood. He homesteaded 80 acres and went back for the entire family. Eventually, the farm grew to 35,000 acres (which was only broken up between various family members a decade ago). Many farms in the area failed after slavery ended, explains Charles’ wife Jenny, because none of the landowners knew how to run the farms, but Folsom has always been a family-run farm, so it survived. “We call it a plantation, because to me, a plantation is self-sufficient,” says Charles. And although it’s gone through so many changes that it’s hard to keep track (the farm once milled cotton, but “the boll weevils are ferocious.”), they’re still inventing new ways to stay successful and relevant. “You’ve got to be diverse,” says Jenny, who met us at the house and gave us a half-hour history lesson on the surrounding area. These days, they raise hormone-free cattle and sheep, grow timber and are tinkering with organic farming.
And then, there’s the extraordinary 1920s cottage we’ve rented for a night. Decorated with simple farm antiques, paintings of the country life, old family and farm photographs, and vignettes put together with pinecones and branches gathered from the grounds, the house feels like a living record of those who passed through before. “We didn’t buy anything from flea markets or antique stores,” says Charles. “Everything in here came from buildings around the farm.” Long, unfinished wooden floorboards creak, sheep gather right outside the windows, and a big southern porch has worn wicker chairs. Cooper–the youngest of Charles and Jenny’s three grown sons–is a woodworker who manages the former caretaker’s house, including working with nearby RuralStudio, whose students often come out to the farm to draw and study the way these old structures were built.
Built in 1920, it’s the newest structure on the farm with most dating back to the 1830s. If we had more time, I’m sure we’d have received a full oral history presentation on each building. Charles is as good at talking as he is farming. We wander over to a big barn on cement blocks, check in on the animals and peek into the old wooden structures–the log seed house used with the first cotton gin, a carriage house, the smoke house, chicken coop, plantation store, weaving house. It’s like Colonial Williamsburg without any of the sheen. Or explanatory plaques or period costume. Folsom is a real, working farm, where a family still makes a living off the land. They will, however, give you a personal tour if you ask nicely and make arrangements ahead of time. And I can guarantee, it will be more meaningful than anything you can get into with a ticket.
The Details
Starting at $100 a night. If you want to grill out, they’ll have a hunk of hormone-free beef waiting in the fridge when you get there, along with complimentary juice, milk and homemade sausage and cheese spread for breakfast. Cooper makes cutting boards from old fencing around the farm, and there are several in the house to buy. Four bunk beds, a full bed and a pull-out. Two bedrooms, sleeps eight.
On Jenny’s recommendation, we made the trip into the historical town of Marion while we were there. Check out the rest of our photos from the Alabama leg of our road trip at the Designtripper-Lincoln site!
14 May 2023 | Gownnoino Said:
At low concentrations Causes and epidemiology Naturally occurring human botulism exists in 3 forms foodborne, wound and intestinal online generic cialis
15 May 2023 | Osgndyefs Said:
topamax and lexapro https://lexaproescitalopramikd.com/ how much escitalopram to overdose
15 May 2023 | Dorothy Said:
Generally I don’t learn article on blogs, but I would like
to say that this write-up very compelled me to take a look at and do so!
Your writing taste has been amazed me. Thanks, quite great
article.
15 May 2023 | Kennethmeemy Said:
top rated ed pills: ed meds online – best ed pill
15 May 2023 | Nzxxzunirl Said:
prozac sarafem https://prozacfluoxetinesyu.com/ fluoxetine with food
15 May 2023 | Mickeywer Said:
http://edpills.pro/# ed pills online
15 May 2023 | Gerald Said:
Hello! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new
iphone 4! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog
and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the great work!
15 May 2023 | Williamcef Said:
the best ed pills new ed pills top ed drugs
15 May 2023 | Williamcef Said:
natural ed remedies natural ed remedies best pill for ed
16 May 2023 | Kennethmeemy Said:
ed treatment review: cheap ed drugs – medications for ed
16 May 2023 | Edglinvog Said:
cymbalta memory loss can duloxetine cause liver damage cymbalta for depression and anxiety
17 May 2023 | CaseySep Said:
online pharmacy india п»їlegitimate online pharmacies india cheapest online pharmacy india
18 May 2023 | CaseySep Said:
online shopping pharmacy india india pharmacy Online medicine order
21 May 2023 | Nmuilycle Said:
wellbutrin vs prozac alcohol prozac is fluoxetine a controlled substance
23 May 2023 | Jetta Said:
Hiya very nice site!! Man .. Excellent .. Amazing ..
I’ll bookmark your site and take the feeds also?
I’m satisfied to find so many useful info right here in the publish,
we want work out more techniques on this regard, thank you for sharing.
. . . . .
24 May 2023 | Stormy Said:
Hey there! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could get a captcha plugin for my comment form?
I’m using the same blog platform as yours
and I’m having trouble finding one? Thanks a
lot!
25 May 2023 | Filomena Said:
I every time spent my half an hour to read this web site’s articles or reviews daily along with a cup of coffee.
26 May 2023 | Nam Said:
An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker who
had been conducting a little homework on this. And he in fact bought me dinner simply because
I stumbled upon it for him… lol. So allow me
to reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But
yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this subject here on your blog.
26 May 2023 | Kurtis Said:
I know this website provides quality based articles or reviews and extra data, is there any other
web site which offers such information in quality?
26 May 2023 | Fred Said:
Thanks very interesting blog!
26 May 2023 | KennethFiz Said:
canadian pharmacy drug prices – meds without a doctor s prescription canada best online pharmacies canada
26 May 2023 | GeorgeJah Said:
certified canadian pharmacies discount pharmacies online online drugstore reviews
26 May 2023 | KennethFiz Said:
canadian mail order pharmacy – legitimate canadian mail order pharmacies legal online pharmacies
26 May 2023 | GeorgeJah Said:
list of approved canadian pharmacies international pharmacies that ship to the usa my canadian pharmacy
27 May 2023 | mas informacion Said:
Thanks for posting this info.
27 May 2023 | review Said:
I?¦ve been exploring for a little for any high-quality articles or blog posts in this kind of space . Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this web site. Studying this info So i?¦m happy to show that I have an incredibly just right uncanny feeling I found out just what I needed. I most undoubtedly will make sure to do not disregard this web site and give it a look on a continuing basis.
27 May 2023 | KennethFiz Said:
ed drugs online – drugs without a doctor s prescription northeast discount pharmacy
27 May 2023 | Tabitha Said:
Nice weblog here! Also your website so much up fast!
What web host are you the use of? Can I get your affiliate hyperlink in your host?
I want my site loaded up as fast as yours lol
27 May 2023 | KennethFiz Said:
drugs online – prescription drugs prices buy prescription drugs without doctor
27 May 2023 | Tanya Said:
Hi, I do think this is an excellent blog. I stumbledupon it 😉 I’m going to come back once again since
I saved as a favorite it. Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide others.
27 May 2023 | Cindi Said:
What’s up, its pleasant paragraph on the topic of media print, we all be aware of media is a fantastic source of facts.
28 May 2023 | GeorgeJah Said:
legitimate canadian pharmacies online drugs without a doctor s prescription top 10 online pharmacies
28 May 2023 | KennethFiz Said:
viagra at canadian pharmacy – international pharmacies that ship to the usa 24 hour pharmacy
28 May 2023 | KennethFiz Said:
canadian meds – meds without a doctor s prescription canada mail order canadian drugs
28 May 2023 | Darryl Said:
My relatives all the time say that I am wasting my time here at
web, however I know I am getting familiarity all the time
by reading such nice articles.
29 May 2023 | Carltonhal Said:
https://todaynews.pro/
29 May 2023 | StevenSoymn Said:
Накрутка Twitch зрителей
29 May 2023 | Florida Said:
Hello! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my old room mate!
He always kept talking about this. I will forward this write-up to him.
Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!
29 May 2023 | Intergo Said:
cialis I don t know if I should seek therapy or if it will just subside on its own
30 May 2023 | Delbert Said:
What you said was actually very logical. But, what about this?
suppose you added a little content? I am not suggesting your information isn’t
solid., however what if you added a title to possibly grab people’s attention? I mean designtripper is a little vanilla.
You might glance at Yahoo’s front page and see how they create article titles to get viewers to open the links.
You might add a related video or a related pic or two to grab people interested about everything’ve written. In my opinion,
it would bring your posts a little bit more interesting.
30 May 2023 | Jasonrax Said:
where do you inject liquid cialis Cialis without a doctor prescription canadian pharmacy viagra & cialis
30 May 2023 | Alfie Said:
It’s appropriate time to make a few plans for the longer term
and it is time to be happy. I’ve learn this post and if I may I want
to recommend you few fascinating things or tips. Maybe you can write
next articles regarding this article. I wish to
read more issues about it!
30 May 2023 | Francisca Said:
If you wish for to take a good deal from this paragraph then you have to apply such techniques to your
won blog.
30 May 2023 | Jasonrax Said:
canadian pharmacy 24 com safe reliable canadian pharmacy my canadian pharmacy
31 May 2023 | Jasonrax Said:
canadian pharmacy reviews certified canadian international pharmacy the canadian drugstore
01 June 2023 | download pragmatic play Said:
My partner and I absolutely love your blog and find the majority of your post’s to be precisely what I’m looking for.
can you offer guest writers to write content
for you? I wouldn’t mind creating a post or elaborating on most of the subjects you write related to here.
Again, awesome blog!