Spotted Tavern Farm at Dodd’s Corner is a place where past and present meet.
The former site of Civil War encampments and skirmishes also housed the Burdis U.S. Post Office from 1909 to 1933 and has been in continuous agricultural use for more than 100 years.
Stafford County and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service are helping to preserve that legacy by protecting a portion of the original farm, known as the Huffman Tract, from future residential development.
The county has now placed 122 acres in a perpetual conservation easement through its Purchase of Development Rights Program (PDR), working with the current landowners.
NRCS provided matching funds through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program to purchase the easement.
This collaboration underscores the land’s agricultural and environmental significance. NRCS has classified 90 percent of the property as “prime soils” and “soils of statewide importance.”
The wetlands portion is a Critical Resource Protection Area for Chesapeake Bay water quality.
The owners hope that the preservation of their land, designated a Virginia Century Farm in 2017, will encourage other landowners in their part of the county to consider placing easements on their properties to preserve the rural character of the area and to maintain Hartwood’s particular sense of place.
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