Chapel Ridge Farm is a truly special place that must be experienced to understand its true character.  The charming home and historic chapel are nestled  on the 170 acre +/- country estate.  The farm has about 110 acres in pasture with the remainder in woodland and is fenced and cross-fenced with a barn, watering troughs, seasonal streams and pond.  Turkey Creek boldly flows through the property creating one of many magical spots on the property.

LOCATION

Chapel Ridge Farm is located near the small farming community of Willowbend WV and just 5 minutes to the historic village of Union, which is the county seat of Monroe County. The conveniences of a larger city can be found including a large farm center, medical facilities, pharmacy, banking, grocery store, hardware store and some.  The property is easily accessible by paved state maintained roads.

Lewisburg, which is the Greenbrier County seat, was voted the Coolest Small Town in American in 2011 and is just a 25 minute drive to the thriving downtown historic district. The downtown boasts a year round live theatre, Carnegie Hall, several fabulous restaurants, shops and boutiques.  There is also a modern hospital and all attendant medical facilities along with all the big box stores. The farm’s location lies within the required driving time for physicians working out the hospital.

The Greenbrier County Airport, which has WV’s longest runway, is located just 30 minutes away and has daily flights to Atlanta and Washington DC. The world famous Greenbrier Resort is about 30 minutes’ drive and Snowshoe Ski Resort is about 2.5 hours’ drive. Roanoke and Blacksburg VA are 90 minutes, DC is 4 hours and Charlotte is 3 hours away.

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THE HOME

The delightful home was custom designed and constructed to create a home that values quality of space over quantity and emphasizes comfort, beauty and a high level of detail.  This warm and inviting home meets the needs of daily living and designed to flood the interior with natural light throughout the seasons.  One is surrounded by beautiful forms, special details and natural materials.  The three porches create an extra dimension and add to the quality of living, as does the outdoor garden shower (a most special place).

The first building phase was completed in 2001 by master builder Denny Galford and the addition was completed in 2010.  The architect designed the home so additions could be easily made while preserving the efficiency, warmth and coziness of the home.

MARVIN CHAPEL

The little white chapel on the Willowbend road is more than 140 years old. It was built before 1869 by southern sympathizers who broke away from the neighboring Dropping Lick Methodist Church congregation during the Civil War.  The chapel was purchased in 1997 from the United Methodist Conference in WV by the owner of the surrounding Chapel Ridge Farm and underwent a complete renovation.  There are several original hand-blown glass windows in place and the beautiful hand-cut stone foundation is amazingly still “on the level”.

The chapel is now being used as an art studio and a meeting place. Please read the complete history of the chapel under the “Maps and Other Documents” section of this site.

AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES

Chapel Ridge Farm contains approximately 110 acres of gently rolling meadows.  About 50 head of cattle along with their attendant calves graze on seasonal grasses in the pastures. Sheep and goats also do well in this area as would alpacas and llamas.

The soils and elevation would be well suited for establishing a vineyard or fruit orchard. There is only 300’ in elevation change across the entire boundary.

The pastures have been limed and fertilized on a regular schedule based on pH and soil samples taken as specified by the USDA.  Spraying for thistle and stick weed has also been done recently.  Monroe County ranks 3rd out of 55 counties in WV for the production of beef and 1st in the production of sheep. Chapel Ridge Farm is considered to be one of the county’s nicest grazing boundaries.

There is no shortage of room to establish a vegetable garden and the rich soil and abundant sunshine is perfect for growing tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, squash, cucumbers, carrots, onions and any of the “Greens” (kale-collards).

Water for livestock is provided by watering troughs fed by the well.

The pastures are rented to an excellent local cattle rancher with an annual rental paid to the owner by the rancher. The horse stable and surrounding pasture is rented to a local person who keeps 4 beautiful horses there year round.

WATER ON THE FARM

Crystal clear and clean water is abundant on Chapel Ridge Farm.  A year round stream, Turkey Creek, meanders across the backside of the farm and offers a wonderful opportunity to sit and enjoy the sound of rushing water over the outlaying limestone rock. Four other ephemeral streams are found on the property, one being over ½ mile long creating a beautiful hidden hollow above Turkey Creek.  The streams and creek flow into Indian Creek and then on to the 2000 acre Bluestone Lake and the mighty New River at Hinton.

A deep water well was drilled to serve the main residence and water is pumped from the well to the livestock watering troughs on top of the ridge.

There is a small farm pond on top of the ridge that has recently been cleaned out and a new livestock fence has been built around the perimeter of the pond.

THE STABLE – OUTBUILDINGS – FENCING

The stable-garage was built in 2001.  The garage can accommodate two vehicles and some tack. The stable will hold up to 4 horses.

There is also a goat shed and one other loafing shed for the horses.

There has been over $32,000 spent on perimeter and cross fencing on the property. The fencing is considered excellent by farm industry standards.  Sam Clay Fencing is well known throughout the area for building a high quality fence that will last for years to come.  Oak board or high tensile fencing with treated posts and top strand electric are the materials used in building the fence.

FOREST RESOURCES AND WILDLIFE

Chapel Ridge is home to the 3rd largest Green Ash tree in the state of WV, measuring 17’ in circumference. The tree was measured by foresters and recorded in West Virginia’s prestigious Big Tree Registry. Please see the Owner’s narrative in the “Maps and Documents Section” for an interesting look at this centuries’ old Heritage tree.

Some of the other species growing on the property are White Oak, Tulip Poplar, Red Oak, Sugar Maple, Hickory, Sycamore and Red Maple. There are also several Black Walnut trees scattered about that are very beautiful and stately and produce an abundance of tasty walnuts in the fall of the year. The forest is producing tons of acorns, beechnuts, hickory nuts, autumn olive berries and wild cherries.

No forest pests such as Gypsy Moth or Emerald Ash Borer have been found on the property.

The farm is home to a wide array of wildlife which includes a variety of song birds, owls, hawks, woodpeckers, ravens and wild turkeys. White tailed deer, raccoon, opossums, rabbits, chipmunks, coyotes and bobcats are a part of the resident wildlife population. Excellent wildlife habitat is a result of a diversified mix of mature and emerging forest, farm field edges, rhododendron thickets, bogs and successional forest growth in the old field areas.

MINERALS RESOURCES

The Marcellus Shale underlies the property at a depth of 5000’+. The east coast Marcellus Shale Region is thought to contain enough natural gas to power the United States for over 100 years.
The owner has chosen not to lease the oil and gas rights and all the mineral rights the seller owns will transfer to the purchaser at closing. There are no known coal reserves underlying the property. All prospective purchasers are encouraged to have an attorney do a title search prior to purchasing.

ZONING

There is currently no county zoning in this area of Monroe County. All prospective purchasers are encouraged to contact the Monroe County Health Department for answers regarding installation of septic systems and water wells. Further information on county zoning may be answered by contacting the county commissioners at www.MonroeCountyWV.net.

UTILITIES

There is electric and phone service on the property. Public water, sewer or cable is not available at this time.

Water to house and watering trough is provided via a drilled well. Sewage disposal is provided by a conventional drip irrigation septic system.

Satellite providers such as Hughes Net, Jet Blue or a wireless mobile broadband air card may provide high speed internet service. Frontier Communications has stated they will have cable internet connections available sometime in 2013. Television reception may be provided by either DIRECTV or Dish Network.

Cell phone coverage is adequate in most places on the property. Weekly trash pickup, daily newspaper and daily mail delivery is available at roadside. UPS and FedEx service this area also.

Electric service cost house, barn and wells: $800/year
Propane cost: $1000/year
Trash service cost: $216/year
Landline Phone service cost: $684/year
Verizon 5GB mobile broadband air card internet service cost: $600/year

ACCESS- BOUNDARIES AND SURVEY

Access to the property is excellent and is served by year-round, state maintained paved and gravel highways. The property fronts on the paved Willowbend Road (CR13) for over 1/2 mile and on the gravel Buster Brown Road (CR13/5) for about 4/10’s mile.  Public school buses run daily when school is in session.

Much of the property has been surveyed by Mountaineer Land Survey, J. Brad Smith, LLS, Sinks Rt.1, Box 306, Sinks Grove WV 24976. Most of the property is bounded by fence and county highways. About ½ mile is a common boundary with the WV University Experimental Research Farm. Since there is not a recent survey on the farm, the property is being sold by the by the boundary and not by the acre.

LOCATION

Property Address:
HC 76, Box 17W
Union, WV   22983

Google Coordinates: Latitude 37.54049N   Longitude 080.53674W
Elevation 1904’ at streamside to 2301’ at the high pasture peak
Monroe County
Union District
Tax Map 7, Parcels 11,13, and 14
Deed Book 218, Page 591 and Deed Book 262, Page 628
Class Two taxes for 2011: $343.1

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