Heritage
Coming Home to the Farm – Bowman Gray Jr.
As early as 1944, Bowman Gray Jr. began assembling the land for Brookberry Farm and continued to improve and expand it over a period of 50 years.
At first Mr. Gray concentrated on the Guernsey breed and developed a prize herd and dairy. He took his cattle to shows all over the South. His success was apparent in his pine-paneled office, next to the barn at the heart of Brookberry. It was literally covered with blue ribbons and boxes full of trophies.
Later he sold the Guernsey herd and began raising Charlais cattle and had the first purebred herd in the United States.
It’s said that Mr. Gray was all business at work, but when he left the office he went straight to the farm, changed clothes, got in his Willis Jeep and checked his fields and fences. He loved the land, the cattle and the daily ebb and flow of work at the farm.
While Brookberry Farm was a working farm, it was also Mr. Gray’s pride and joy, and he never tired of coming home.
“The Master Plan responds to the land form and supports preserving the Gray Estate’s feeling…roads follow the physical aspects of the terrain and keep its rolling character.”
– Bob Koontz, Land Planner