FARM HISTORY

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Shortly after the end of the Revolutionary War, George Washington allotted Stephen Mason 1,000 acres of land from the Virginia Military District for his dedicated service.  In 1823, Andrew Branstrator and his wife, Francis Wilkerson, purchased an estimated 400 acres of the Mason property near what is now the Clinton-Massie School.  At this time, much of the land was extremely saturated and not suitable for crop production due to glacial movement across the land during the Pleistocene era.  The least elevated land on the farm was used for pasture, while the drier land was used to grow crops such as hay, which was stored in the barn that still stands today.  Andrew, Francis and several of their children and grandchildren are buried on the grounds of Branstrator Farm.

 

The farm is now owned and operated by Jon Branstrator, fifth generation descendant of Andrew and Francis.  Jon's father returned to Branstrator Farm after serving in World War II and converted the operation from livestock to corn production.  He obtained the equipment to dry and store corn and managed a very successful operation for many years.