Our Story
Johnny Burleson, one of the owners, grew up spending his summers playing in the cold waters of Big Horse Creek. Our other owner, Walter Clark was raised in the nearby foothills of Surry County, spending every available adolescent minute helping his dad restore two old log cabins in the mountains of southwestern Virginia.
The stage was set – the mountains were in our blood.
One warm morning in the summer of 2002, Aunt Geri suggested picking blueberries at a nearby farm. After a series of mind-boggling curves and turns, our journey eventually brought us to Swansie Shepherd Road, and up the road we went, toward a mountain hollow farm that Ashe County residents had known for decades as Swansie's place.
In 2003, there it was - a sign taped to the window of a real estate office reading "blueberry farm for sale." There was nothing about the sign that gave away the farm's location, just a photo of an old rusty pickup truck, a few blueberry bushes, and a local phone number. Whether it was fate or just the serendipitous nature of life, three hours later we found ourselves back at Swansie's place meeting with a realtor. The decision to move forward “felt” right and within five months we were the proud owners of a blueberry farm. As we quickly discovered, this was no ordinary farm, but a part of Ashe County’s heritage – a place where local folks and visitors had picked apples and berries for generations.
We were stewards of a very special place.
In 2020, we became owners of the old Hart Store in downtown Lansing, reimagining a modern general store where we welcome our neighbors and guests to a community gathering place once again.
-Walter, Johnny, and the entire Old Orchard Creek team.
