[Home of the Month]
A Chester County Family Farm AFTER 60 YEARS, A FAMILY FARM COMES ON THE MARKET Laurel Anderson
“I
MAY NEVER LIVE IN A HOUSE THIS BEAUTIFUL again,” says the owner, relaxed in his favorite spot for morning coffee in his childhood home. Looking through the open French doors at a long and stunning view of a good chunk of the 79-acre family farm in West Marlborough, it’s easy to understand the sentiment. “It was a fantastic place to grow up. As a kid, I had treehouses, forts, critters and ponies,” he continues. “I’d come home from school to all this, plus a big pond for fishing and swimming.” After being the family home for 60 years, this classic Chester County farm is ready for its next owners. Set on 79 gently rolling acres, the property includes a three-story main house, two-story guest house, eight-stall stone barn, plus paddocks, pastures and majestic pines. Surrounded by other large parcels of land—most also under easement with Chester County and in a township limiting
66
County Lines | February 2021 | CountyLinesMagazine.com
development to a minimum lot size of 20-acre—the farm is clearly an oasis of peace and privacy. FOXHUNTING COUNTY ROOTS
The expansive views that remain today at the family farm off Clonmell-Upland Road in southern Chester County are what drew Plunkett Stewart to establish the Unionville area as the heart of foxhunting country over a hundred years ago. This is the land of Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire foxhounds, the Cheshire Hunt, and Nancy Penn Smith Hannum. The many area farms once owned by Mr. Stewart still provide perfect galloping and jumping country. These prime conditions drew other foxhunting enthusiasts and resulted in foxhunting easements being granted by the new owners on much of the surrounding land. Among those attracted to this prime hunting territory was a Mrs. Bodine, who bought the farm off Clonmell-Upland Road to
