William Pilkinton had a dream. He wanted to own a farm in
America. He knew all his dreaming and all his yearning would not make his dream
real, so he developed a plan. He set sail from London in 1697 as an indentured
servant, worked seven years to pay his debt, saved his earnings, and in 1726 began
living his dream. For the next 22 years, Pilkinton lived the life of a yeoman
farmer on a good-sized farm with no slaves.
A new dream
Rock Spring Farm's current owner, Randy Silvers, 64, fell in love with the property because of a deep ravine. He overlooked the thistle and the briers, the ramshackle two-story farmhouse and the derelict mobile home that sat vacant. This place was the answer to his prayers.
“I saw that gully and knew right away this farm would be our home. I didn’t even need to walk the rest of the land,” he said.
A spring is at the bottom of that gully – the spring for which the farm is named, the spring from which Pilkinton drew his water, and the spring that feeds the well of the main house. Renewal. Rebirth. Reflection.
Deed in hand, Silvers set out to build his forever home. He pounded fence posts, attached rails, and painstakingly turned the overgrown fields into pasture for his horses. He razed the farmhouse, removed the mobile home, and built a two-story house atop an English basement. He salvaged the wood from the farmhouse to build out the barn and fashion fireplace mantles and decorative beams for his new home.
That was 20 years ago. Aging has a way of adjusting priorities, and living with rheumatoid arthritis can be painful. It makes mending fences, maintaining pastures, and weeding flower beds quite difficult.
“I have watched
Randy slow down considerably,” said Carolyn Berry, Silvers’ wife of six years. “The
upkeep for this place requires a lot of physical labor, and his health no
longer allows him to keep Rock Spring Farm as the showplace it was just a few
years ago. I knew we needed to sell the farm, but every time I mentioned it, Randy would tell me sternly he wasn’t going to sell it. He wanted to live here until the day he died.”
Plans change
After reading articles and watching news clips about a bed and breakfast that was being offered for sale through an essay contest, Silvers agreed a similar contest might be a nice way to transfer ownership of his beloved farm. He has no children and Berry’s children are not interested in living a farm life, so the contest made sense. Another plus - unlike listing the farm for sale with a real estate firm, Silvers would have a say in who would be the next owner.
The couple launched their contest about six months ago and began marketing to people interested in owning a hobby farm in rural Essex County. Dreamers started dreaming and essays trickled in.
“The essays are awe-inspiring – beautifully written, so heartfelt and deserving. People have told us the contest has given them permission to dream, to remember how much they loved growing up on farms, and to reflect about what truly is important in their lives. Some have said dreaming about owning the farm has brought them closer to their spouses, and others have said thinking about the contest has helped them realize how happy they are right where they are with what they have now,” Berry said. “Winning the contest will be a life-changing event for someone, but the contest itself is changing people’s lives.”
“When we launched the contest it was just that – an essay contest by which people could buy the opportunity to own the farm for a lot less than its assessed value of $600,000. As we read the essays and replied to posts on Facebook, we began to realize the incredible responsibility we have,” Berry said.
The contest and the affirmation of the farm's beauty and the quality of Silvers' craftsmanship have given him permission to dream.
“I have accepted that it is time to put the dream Margie and I had behind me. We lived our dream, and I am excited about the next chapter of my life,” Silvers said. “It is time for a new dream; it is time for Carolyn and me to live our dream.”
Berry said that was the first objective of the contest. “Randy needed to be at peace with selling the farm and moving,” she said. “The second objective is to deed the farm to someone who loves it as much as we do.”
Berry and Silvers have a passion for horses. The new owners need not. “They might love alpacas, goats, sheep, or donkeys,” Silvers said. “Some folks have written they plan to use the land to raise heirloom flowers and vegetables. Others want a peaceful place to live and entertain family and friends.”
Dreams can come true
October 1, 2015, is the deadline to enter the contest. More than 2,500 hopefuls have written their 1,000-word essays, submitted their $200 entry fees, and are praying they find out Thanksgiving Day they have been chosen as the farm’s new owner.
“Mr. Pilkinton had a big dream and he had the courage to make it come true,” Silvers said. “He molded this land into the Rock Spring Farm of his dreams. Twenty years ago it became my dream and I worked hard to make it just the way I wanted it. Now it's time for the dream to belong to someone else.”
To award the farm Thanksgiving Day, Berry and Silvers need to receive approximately 2,000 more essays. “Walt Disney said, ‘All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them,’” Silvers said. “This farm is a phenomenal opportunity. Its legacy is of dreaming and courage and it’s waiting to take shape for someone who has the passion and courage to enter this contest and pursue living on a hobby farm in rural Essex County."
To read the contest rules and other contest documents, visit <http://bit.ly/1ERoUJj>. To learn more about the contest, visit <rockspringfarm.org> and <facebook.com/virginiahorsefarm>.
