THE JOHN HENRY FARM: Where Time took a Pause and Family Took the Reins

Tucked into the quiet curves of the Appalachian foothills, there’s a place where stories outlive their speakers—and sometimes even their structures.

Locust Valley Farm, founded in 1817 by John Henry of Derry County, Ireland may have slipped into disrepair over the centuries, but it never lost its soul.  A stay at the Amesville, Ohio farm 15 years ago for what was suppose to be a quick overnight rest on my way from Arizona to New Jersey.  I ended up staying a week.

I didn’t know it then, but I was standing in a place waiting to be reborn.

My cousin—married to a descendant of the original Henry Family—has spent the last several years restoring the farmhouse, all its outbuildings, and its pastures.  Steven turned what was once a fading farm into a living memory. 

Steven was born 191 years after John Henry---nearly two full centuries apart, yet now forever linked by wood, stone, legacy and the turning years.

The word turned is key here.  You see John Henry was a skilled Wheelwright. Whose task it is to build and repair wooden wheels, especially the large, spoked wheels used on wagons, carts, carriages, and early farm equipment. In rural communities like early Ohio, everything rolled—from milk wagons to supply carts, and the local wheelwright was as essential as a blacksmith or cooper.  John Henry’s work as a wheelwright before establishing the Locust Vallery farm means he wasn’t just a farmer—he was a skilled tradesman whose hands helped build the movement and turning of his community. 

Same as Steven (write a comparison)

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