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What was once a massively-sized farm on land granted by the King of England has been split and separated in Augusta County, Virginia.
Yet cattle still roam across 370 acres of the Walnut Grove Farm that has been in the family of Bill Croft for far more than two centuries. And, here, Croft likes to check on those cows while savoring the sunsets of Swoope, Virginia.
“In my childhood, I was a farmer,” says Croft, 62. “I learned to drive a tractor just as soon as my feet would touch the pedals.”
Cows aside, Croft spends most of his time buying local vegetables and overseeing his pickle-processing plant at the Walnut Grove Farm.
Croft’s wife, Judie, 65, keeps busy overlooking the farm’s Inn at MeadowCroft (540-712-0791), a recently added, six-room lodge housed in a pair of historic cabins dating to 1795.
“That was one of Judie’s dreams,” Bill says. “The biggest compliment we get is people just feel they can unwind.”
Inside, the honeymoon suite features a big copper bathtub. Downstairs, a dining hall is popular for Judie’s tasty waffle-and-bacon breakfasts, served with buttery eggs.
The nearby pickling operation dates to Judie’s forays at a farmers market in the 1990s. “People eat her stuff and wanted more,” says Bill. “Then I took it commercial in 2001.”
Today, the Crofts make 65 different products: jams, jellies, salsa, relish and pickles. And they stay round-the-clock busy during the crisp days of autumn. That’s when Bill Croft hits the road for nearly three weeks, selling pickles at a craft show in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. “And I have a friend who has a parking lot in the middle of town,” Bill says. “I trade him a case of zucchini relish, and he’ll park me all month. Pickles are actually a good commodity.”
TRAVEL PLANNER
Farm & Stay: Inn at MeadowCroft, Swoope, VA. innatmeadowcroft.com. Includes six rooms adorned with antiques.
Do: Visit pickling plant; view sunsets.
Eats: Breakfast on farm. Lunch at Wright’s Dairy Rite, Staunton, VA. 540-886-0435 (one of Judie’s favorites).
The story above is from our September/October 2019 issue.
