I've mentioned it several times before, but one of my favorite things about the area around Erbie is the sense of history you get when you visit the area. While the "town" is now uninhabited, there still is an old church, several in-tact homesteads, old cemeteries, and the remains of old roads, old houses and a life that used to be. And because the area is unpopulated, you get a good sense for how it must have felt to be alive back at the turn of the century out in the wilderness, relatively isolated from your neighbors except for a long walk or ride by horseback down a road or at church on Sunday morning.
Another such place is the JW Farmer Homestead.
As best I can tell (and the history of this area is not terribly well docemented online), this old homestead dates back to 1911, and has many original buildings that are mostly fairly well preserved.
To get to the spot, we generally take the Old Erbie Loop Trail. (directions at the link). The trail starts at Erbie Church heading along the road South toward the River. You turn right at the old homestead, past a barn, and then up the hill to Goat Bluff (details at the link).
At the top of Goat Bluff, at 1.2 miles, you hit a 4 way intersection. To get to the JW Farmer Homestead, take the route that continues straight ahead along the bluff (the road to the harsh right takes you to the horse camp, the soft right continues on to the Old Erbie Trail).
If you take the left-most trail (straight), you'll begin to decend down the fairly steep trail. This section of trail is very nice, as it has a lot of nice flat rocks that form natural stairs and there are usually quite an array of wildflowers.
As you head down you'll be veering to your right and a small creek will be below to your left. The trail then crosses over the creek (not a wet crossing) and then turns back left. At about .4 from the intersection (1.6 from the start of the Old Erbie Trail), the trail will connect with the Old River Trail. To the left heads down to the river, to the right is to the homestead. Shortly after taking the right you arrive at the homestead.
While the Homestead appears to be out in the middle of nowhere, it really is sitting right along the Old River Trail which was the old road through the area that connected all of the homesteads along the river bottom. If you think about the Old River Trail as the old road, it makes perfect sense.
Take some time to explore the area. Most of the buildings are open to walk into. Just be smart and safe and respectful to this piece of history.
After taking the time to explore, it's back out on the Old River Trail. Immediately across from the homestead is a trail that enters the woods. This is where the Cecil Cove Loop would joins the rest of the trails in the area. Going straight on the Old River Trail continues on the trail toward Kyles Landing.
We followed the Old River Trail another about .3 miles to the next Buffalo River Crossing before heading back.
Hike to JW Farmer Homestead
Distance: 4 miles round trip (if you come in from the Old Erbie Trail -- it's at the 6.2 mile mark of the Cecil Cove Loop)
Difficulty: Moderate
Kids: Yes
Footwear: Trail shoes or hiking boots are best
Star rating: 3.5 of 5
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