Seaview Creek farm has over 23 acres of land. Our small agricultural operation grows a little over 5 acres of grains and white potatoes and other crops in rotation. We have another 6 acres of cropland area on the waterfront in planning stages for organic crops, and we already have multiple bee hives populated with over sixty thousand beautiful honey producing bees. Because our hives are sheltered from agricultural pesticides, our bees produce an amazing pure and delicious honey. Our "apiary" or bee hives are located in an out of the way setting that wont interfere with gatherings in the barnyard.
Our activities are governed by Virginia laws, including the Virginia Right to Farm Act and the a Virginia Agri-tourism Law known as the "Boneta Act"
Our Goal is to first grow some exceptional crops, with a focus on the same white potatoes grown on this site since the mid 1800's by Marion Scott, one of the leading growers of his era. In fact, in 1884 he built the barn shown above, with 18 stalls, a corn feed room, a tack room, indoor plumbing, automatic watering for the horses, a huge second floor hayloft, and eventually a knob and tube electrical system, the first of its kind in the local county. It was initially fired by an on site windmill generator, as was his house next door.
However, we understand the need to also promote production agriculture, and work towards finding new markets, enhancing the image of our local crops in the marketplace, and building the brands that make our produce stand out in a crowded field of agricultural offerings, including our own "Seaside Coast Reserve" brand Honey
We try to share our scenic rural farm environment to provide a place for people to come and experience the natural environment of a farm, while enjoying a wide open waterfront vista of a United Nations Designated Biosphere Reserve. Visitors usually walk away with a few new recipes for potatoes, and when we have some in stock, maybe even a 20 or 50 pound bag of fresh potatoes. We have spent many years preserving the original 1884 historic Scott barn where we store them as a tribute to our historic agricultural roots. Today it stands as one of the few remaining barns of its era. We have a number of Chefs and restaurant owners who love to drop in on us and share the latest ideas for potatoes. They seem to love the feeling of the old barn.
Visitors at Seaview Creek Farm enjoy learning about modern potato farming, Bee Keeping and honey harvesting, historic farm buildings, cooking with farm fresh produce, great honey recipies , and what its like to be on a seaside farm in a pristine natural area.
“There is just something spiritual about this barn, it evokes a sense of wonder and peace at the same time, it inspires a kind of search for inner peace that seems like it just might be found among its timbers....”
About the barn
- The first floor was originally an 18 stall horse barn, with a feed room and a tack room. it was on of the first electrified barns in the county, and we have preserved samples of the old wiring for display.
- The first floor has a 10 foot ceiling height and is divided into several smaller spaces with a 15 foot wide center hall, and 10 foot by 10 foot gable door openings front and rear. , and connects with the oval courtyard for an elegant modern interpretation of the farm.
- The barn is surrounded byseveral acres of open lawn with beautiful scenic views of the seaside waterways and islands, designated as a "Biosphere Reserve" by the united nations in 1979
- The First floor has traditional wall to wall brick flooring
- The Second floor, originally a hayloft, is one large room with an a-frame cathedral ceiling vaulting up over 25 feet in the center.
- it has a central up/down sound system to entertain our workers.
- Soft up lights and traditional center down lights have dimmers for environmental control.
- The upstairs flooring is the original heart pine floor used as the original hayloft storage area.
- The siding is mostly the original cypress clapboards. The Doors are reproductions designed by the current owner and built of tongue and groove cypress. The roof still has the original 1884 slate shingles, in incredibly good condition..