Historic Valley View Farm:
Located in Fauquier County, Virginia, in the middle of the hunt country of
the northern Piedmont, Valley View Farm is an historic tract where the Old
Virginia tradition of rural living in an idyllic setting has survived. Nestled
in Crooked Run Valley in Delaplane, just south of Sky Meadows State Park,
this historic 500-acre farm is recognized as the crown jewel of the Crooked
Run Valley Rural Historic District, which is listed on both the State and
National Registers of Historic Places. Valley View has been recognized by
leading landscape authorities as “one of the most beautiful sceneries
in the world.” The Richmond Times-Dispatch recently proclaimed Valley
View “an idyllic setting . . . Paradise,” and internationally
renowned American landscape artist Andrei Kushnir called the
Farm “an inspiration . . . to paint that countryside is like getting
into
the soul of the Country.” The Farm is ideally located in Virginia hunt
country near a number of wineries, bed and breakfasts, and is less than one
hour from downtown Washington, DC.
Originally land of the Powhatan Indians, Valley View has been home to the
Strother family for more than 80 years. The land was first claimed in the
early 18th century by English settler, Thomas, sixth Baron Fairfax of Cameron.
Charles E. Strother, the current steward of Valley View, traces his lineage
to the Virginia Fairfaxes and is a direct descendant of Lord Fairfax’s
land agent, Robert “King” Carter. His grandmother was Hannah Fairfax
Washington, a descendent of the George Washington family. The country’s
first president surveyed the land surrounding Valley View Farm.
In the mid-19th century, Henry Simpers, a Quaker pastor, purchased the property.
He offered it as a stopover point for the Underground Railroad and housed
freed African-Americans there. During the War Between the States, Simpers
allowed armies from both sides to camp at the Farm. Stonewall Jackson’s
troops marched through the farm on their way to the
Battle of Second Manassas.
When Simpers died in 1920, George Thomas Strother purchased the farm for
his son, C.E. Strother, who worked the land for more than 60 years. In 1982,
C.E. Strother was named the nation’s Outstanding Farmer for his great
contributions to American agriculture. In 1990, Charles E. Strother, Jr.,
a graduate of the agricultural department of Virginia Tech, took over the
operation and currently operates a peach and apple orchard among other things.
The Strother Family has, collectively, hundreds of years of agricultural
experience, with particular experience in horticultural pursuits. Valley
View Farm currently is the subject of a major art exhibition, on display at
the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond, Virginia, entitled “Painted
History: The Landscapes of Valley View Farm.”