Here's my report from Creek Crossing Farm in Lincoln, VA, along with a bit of background about the area.
Loudoun County
Loudoun County
Loudoun County, Virginia, only 25 miles from Washington DC, is one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation, and boasts one of its highest median incomes. With a steady population of roughly 20,000 from 1900 through the 1950s, Loudoun County has exploded to a population of nearly 300,000 today. Large single-family homes, standing freshly built atop miles of formerly productive farmland, now line many of the county’s major roads.
In the 1880s, Loudoun County was the fourth largest wheat producer in the United States. Today, agriculture is still central to the county’s character: the area is lauded as DC’s wine country, with more than 20 wineries and still more farms. The county’s celebrated rural nature and its important role in Colonial American history have long served as major draws. Protecting that rural and historic character, while accommodating rapid population growth, is Loudoun County’s primary challenge.
Creek Crossing Farm
Creek Crossing Farm is a bit of Loudoun County farmland that remains much as it has been since 1773, when Quaker Edward Thompson built the Federal style home on one of his many plantations. The farm’s 25 acres of fields and woods, with a small and picturesque creek meandering throughout, is home to a flock of free range chickens and a few pet rabbits, as well as 700 organic blueberry bushes on what may have been the first commercial blueberry field in the county.
Owner Barbara Baroody once also kept sheep, cows, and horses. But, as she likes to say, they became “too much like work.” Far from lazy, though, Barbara is quick and active, flitting about her home and farmyard, from knitting to chicken feeding and egg gathering, always trailed by her friendly little dog. Barbara, who was raised on a vegetable farm in Massachusetts, sees her B&B as a way of welcoming guests to her world, to show them how she lives on her farm. Barbara hopes that guests enjoy the farm’s serenity. She invites guests to freely roam the property, collect eggs, or pick blueberries and raspberries. The remaining eggs and blueberries she sells to friends and neighbors who come to buy them at the farm.
Barbara’s ‘pets and children welcome’ policy reflects the relaxed, unpretentious quality of her B&B. The B&B is comfortably lived in, while still retaining its elegance and historic charm. The home offers four guestrooms, all with beautiful antique beds, that sleep between two and five. A sunroom, sitting room, and parlor with grand piano are also available for guests to use. In the floorboards under the piano, a trap door is a reminder of the house’s days as a stop on the Underground Railroad.
The Creek Crossing Farm home has built up more than 230 years of fascinating stories, and Barbara is a great historical guide, as she served for 10 years as the President of the Civil War Round Table. Accordingly, she has an extensive Civil War Library that guests are welcome to browse.
The property’s outbuildings hold stories of their own. The stone foundation of an old barn, burned by Yankee soldiers during the Civil War, is now the site of a perennial garden. A 16 square foot springhouse, now in disrepair, was required by a Colonial law which stipulated that property owners must enclose and improve their springs.
When guests wake up hungry after a full night’s sleep, they’re treated to a breakfast of fresh eggs, seasonal fruit and berries, grits, local ham, and sweet cake or bread. Barbara learned to cook in Paris, and she can prepare several cuisines, including French, Italian, and Lebanese. She also makes her own homemade pasta.
If you go:
Rooms start at $165/night for double occupancy, and $135/night for two or more nights, plus 9% sales tax. Breakfast is included. Pets are an additional $25/night.
Creek Crossing Farm at Chappelle Hill
Barbara Baroody
37768 Chappelle Hill Road
Lincoln, VA 20160
Lincoln, VA 20160
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