How a weekend getaway became a thriving farm fulfilling various ambitions and dreams.
How a weekend getaway became a thriving farm fulfilling various ambitions and dreams.
Where Winding Stair Farm Began…
The farm wasn’t our original plan, it evolved. Greg and Stacy started looking for a place in the mountains in 2010. They did it in the way most Atlantans look for a second home:
“We wanted a place in North Georgia to get away to on the weekends. I wanted to be at a high elevation and Greg wanted to be on a river. It’s a hard combination as rivers usually run in valleys. Somehow it was a former campground in Western North Carolina that met our requirements.” – Stacy
For the first few years, they used the property for extended weekend trips, as originally intended. They had dreams of a small garden, maybe some chickens but since they didn’t live at the property full time there was little they could maintain. So they started with bees. Greg attended the Macon County Bee school in 2014, there he met Michelle (part of the original farm team).
“Within a year we had chickens (in the campground bathhouse) and then our first sheep (on the septic field).” – Stacy
The original campground property (reopened for camping and glamping in 2022) is 15 acres; however, most of it is terraced with tree cover for the previous campsites and RV hook-ups which presented a problem when wanting to start a garden. In 2013 Greg and Stacy were able to purchase five adjacent acres of relatively flat clear ground. After more than a year of re-clearing the overgrown property the team planted the first garden on what was to become Winding Stair Farm.
They sold their extra eggs to friends and family. Michelle and Ezra figured out how to shear the sheep. And they sought advice from local families who had generations of knowledge about farming in this area. Greg and Stacy still thought of the farm as a way to sustain themselves until, over time, an opportunity arose to transform the little farm into a sustainable business. The growth of the local food movement in both direct retail and restaurants created a market for the food we were already growing. This, combined with Ezra’s passion for planting and horticulture, and Michelle’s deep care for the animals, made a great start. But their combined dedication to the long hours and relentless optimism is the spirit of Winding Stair Farm.
This dedication expanded incredibly when we discovered that the former Spring Valley Nursery, in Franklin, was going out of business. In November 2017, Winding Stair Farm became Winding Stair Farm & Nursery. We worked with the previous owners to bring forth to Franklin a smooth transition of ownership of the largest independent plant nursery and garden center in the area. The Nursery had a wonderful welcoming opening Day in March of 2018, and we haven’t looked back. We’ve received tremendous approval from the local residents, as well as visiting shoppers as well. We’ve found ourselves a large base of landscapers who plan their gardening projects around the diverse inventory that we provide.
In March of 2019, we celebrated the Nursery’s one year anniversary. At this time, we also opened up the Farmer’s Market Shop at the Nursery, where you can buy seasonal produce and other farm-related goods. In 2020, we opened our brand new retail center.
Now we are a slightly larger team, with full-time, part-time and seasonal staff working at the Farm, Nursery AND campground locations (and often at both!)
