Travel along Lexington County roads and you’ll see brick facades flanking gates for the latest subdivision, residential construction vehicles, or a new road being paved. So, you have to wonder what the sign for Farm 1780 at 1127 Corley Mill Road is offering.
The FARM 1780 is a working farm and a lot more, according to Brett Flashnick and his wife, McKenzie, who are building a future based on the rich past of the 34 acres they own. “This land has just always been here to take care of us,” Brett said.
In 2017, Brett inherited the land from his mother, making him the eighth generation of his family to own it. Brett and McKenzie slowly realized that they could leave their professional careers and create a farm that sells meat and produce, teaches the next generation the value of farming, and offers a place for weddings and celebrations. A tour of the land on a hot August morning shows how much progress the couple has made in reinventing the farm.
Kale is growing nicely on the no-till beds. A crop of Dutch Fork pumpkins spreads across it. They were picked at the farm’s Pumpkin Festival on Sept 30. Children at one of the earlier summer camps planted some of those pumpkins, which are more heat tolerant than those commercially grown. “We had two weeks of summer camp here and we used the popcorn from last fall and a trail mix,” McKenzie said. “And the kids thought that we had hung the moon. They were like, ‘Can you believe that popcorn grows in a field?’”
Wisps of young longleaf pine, still in its grass phase, peek out from midsummer growth in a nearby field. Brett is replenishing 10 acres with longleaf pine, a slow-growing tree that thrives in its native climate. The budding orchard boasts small fruits such as pear — while the state has a reputation for peach growing, it’s not a true native. Blueberries are spent, but muscadines and scuppernongs are ripening. The muscadine will be made into jellies.
The couple sought the consultation of the USDA’s National Resource Conservation Service program and took advantage of special soil testing programs to find ways of healing the land. Brett also enrolled in a new and beginner farming program offered by Clemson University. Sustainable practices are on land that has been farmed the same way for centuries. Their goal is to preserve The FARM 1780 for their two children and generations to come. The 34 acres was part of a 630-acre land grant issued to Brett’s 5th great-great grandfather, George Monts in 1787 just a year before South Carolina was admitted as one of the 13 original states.
In 2017, Brett’s mother and grandmother died within six weeks of one another, passing on 34 acres to him. Keeping the land, rather than selling it to a developer, helped Brett move past the loss. McKenzie, now raising two boys, agreed to devote herself full-time to the endeavor.
This humid morning, McKenzie is mowing parts of the acreage, one of her favorite things to do. In the chicken pen heritage breed, Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpingtons, and Barred Rock hens cluck with excitement, incorrectly anticipating getting fed. The turkeys butt in to check out the humans walking nearby. The turkeys are sold for Thanksgiving. Farm-grown produce and eggs are sold to local restaurants.
The old barns from the 1870s still stand, housing chicken feed and a tractor. In clearing out the structure, McKenzie found ribbons and coins from Brett’s great-grandmother, who won for her yeast rolls recipe at the South Carolina State Fair more than 80 years ago. Depression glass and photos also found there are now displayed in the main house.
A newer outside entertainment area also offers a history lesson, with the bar top embedded with pictures of a chicken coop from the 1950s, another from 1904, a portrait of Brett’s great-grandfather, and a copy of the original plat from the 18th century. An open-air pavilion in the middle of the property is where The FARM 1780 also hosts farm-to-table dinners featuring chefs such as Andy Marchant, who used to own the Lexington restaurant Cinnamon Hill.
The current home on the property, dating back to the 1870s, also serves as a bridal suite and a venue for meetings, or the Hens’ Night Out McKenzie hosts for wine, food, and a bit of fun. The couple hopes that the pumpkin patch, summer camps, dinners, and cocktail events will make The FARM 1780 another option for families in Lexington County.
McKenzie is “humbled by how many people, when they do come out here, are so kind about the fact that we didn’t sell it to a developer. We’re not doing it because we want to make money, we’re doing it because Brett has a very emotional tie to the land, but also coming from the city and then working in sales, I would have never guessed this would have been my life, but I absolutely love it.”