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Records of the Fearrington farm in Chatham County can be traced
back to the 1770s, when land grants issued by North Carolina
Governor Ritchie Caswell first convey title to this farm. In 1786, William Cole, Sr.
purchased 640 acres of land that eventually became Fearrington
Village for $80. It
was said that he was able to purchase the land for a pittance
because the seller did not believe there was enough water on the
property to run a gristmill or whiskey mill. The
land passed through the generations and acquired the Fearrington
name when it was inherited by Cole's granddaughter and her husband,
Edwin H. Fearrington, in 1859.
A fire destroyed the original homestead in 1925, and in 1927 Edwin's
son, John Bunyon Fearrington, built a homestead in a location
close to US 15-501, where it stands today as
The
Fearrington House Restaurant.
He turned the Fearrington
property into a dairy farm in the 1930s, and the land continued to
be used for that purpose until its sale. By the late 1960s, facing
retirement,
John's son Jesse began looking for a buyer for
the farm who would preserve the historic and aesthetic
qualities which had made it an important part of the area for so long.
R.B. Fitch purchased the farm in 1974 and they named the community Fearrington
to honor the stewardship of Jesse and his forebears.
He began to slowly and deliberately began
to craft a unique community from the rolling pastures and wooded
acres of the farm, where residents would enjoy dining, relaxing,
shopping and living.
Avid travelers, R.B. and his late wife Jenny admired the smaller villages of England
and modeled the Fearrington Village Center after those they visited. They wanted to create a "coming together place" where
one could pick up daily necessities, lunch with friends, all enjoyed
in a English
garden setting. From other travels they picked up an interest in the
Italian game of Bocce - lawn bowling - and croquet, eventually
bringing those pastimes to Fearrington residents as well.
Over the last 30 years the community has grown to include nearly
2000 residents, an award-winning country inn, several restaurants, Belted
Galloway cows, acres of beautiful gardens, home furnishings and gift
stores, and much more! Find out
more about our inn,
restaurant,
village
and the
history of our gardens.
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