THINGS TO KNOW AND DO
WHEN YOU STAY AT WOLF TRAP FARM
(updated November 1, 2020)
Table of Contents:
Outdoor Activities at the Farm Page 1
Outdoor Activities in the Area Page 4
Historic Attractions Page 7
Specialty Shopping Page 9
Restaurants Page 10
Electronic Equipment,Trash, Etc. Page 12
Emergency Contacts Page 12
Brief History of Wolf Trap Farm Page 13
Our Staff Page 14
PAGE 1
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES AT THE FARM
Golf Carts:
Our two gas-powered golf carts are available for rent on a half-day or full-day basis, by reservation or first come-first served. The rate is $25/half day; $40/full day ($30 and $60 for the larger one). Morning is until 1:00; afternoon is 1:00 to dusk. You can reserve a golf cart by calling or emailing the farm, or by checking with Tina. The maintenance staff or Tina can give you a brief tutorial if you are not familiar with gas golf carts. The carts stay at the Equipment Building (the metal building where the Cox Mill Pavilion is located). The carts make it much easier to explore the farm. The charges for using a cart can be added to your bill. Due to several bad experiences, we now require that golf cart drivers be 21 or older.
Hot Tub/Party Patio:
All our guests can now have free access to a hot tub. In addition to the hot tub at the Manor House, we now have a “Party Patio” that you can reserve to enjoy the hot tub there, plus corn hole, a fire pit, other patio games, lounge furniture and more (we hope to keep adding things).
The Party Patio is between the barns and the riding ring. There is parking there. It is walled off in the front and part way down the sides so you can enjoy privacy, but the back is more open so you can enjoy the view.
You can book the Party Patio by calling 540-832-1803 or emailing wolftrapfarmvacation@gmail.com. You can reserve it (first come, first served) for 90 minutes for each day of your booking.
You will want to bring your bathing suits if you think you may want to enjoy the hot tub (or swimming hole, see below). You should bring towels from the place where you are staying at the farm and take them back there when you leave the patio. You will probably want to pack a cooler with drinks and snacks to enjoy at the patio. You might want to bring hotdogs, marshmallows and smores materials.
Please leave the patio as you found it, ready for others to use, with the inside lights off. Replace the hot tub cover and stash your trash in the receptacles provided. Bank your fire, and if it is too high to leave, place the firepit cover over it.
Hiking:
Wolftrap Drive, our farm road, stretches from the railroad tracks you crossed when you entered the farm off of Highway 15 to our back gate on Cox Mill Road (Virginia Route 639). It is almost a mile long, so if you hike to each end from the houses, you have gone close to two miles.
If you hike down to the railroad tracks, you cross Mountain Run creek and its Swimming Hole and pass by a hay shed and our front pond. The roadway that goes up beside the hay shed leads to our Love Pond tented reception facility.
The walk back from the railroad tracks gets a bit steep. Also you can walk along the side of the creek. As you head back from the railroad tracks, make a left turn when you reach the creek, and you have a nice grassy area to walk beside the creek.
If you walk to Cox Mill Road, you pass the barns, the riding ring, the equipment building and Cox Mill Pavilion, the Milker's Cottage, the driveway to Baldy's Retreat, and our back pastures and hay fields. The Cox Mill House (our latest additional dwelling) is just a few hundred yards down Cox Mill Road if you turn left.
The woods at the farm are laced with nice trails, with no real hazards or bad terrain. They are old logging roads mostly. You can get lost, but if you stay on the trails they will either dead-end and you can reverse, or they will bring you back to civilization, usually Cox Mill Road or the farm. We had some logging done in 2016, and the cut over area with its young pines is pretty easy to stumble upon if you get lost. If you are somehow disoriented, when you find the cut over area, you can follow the skid trails to Cox Mill Road and back to the farm. There is also a gravel road through the woods that takes you to Cox Mill Road, so if you are truly lost, find the cut over area or the gravel road and hike out to Cox Mill and back to our back gate. No one has stayed lost very long. You might walk up on some deer or turkey.
Enter the woods and trails from the Manor House or Servants’ Cottage by using the alleyway between the two horse paddocks (the Manor House paddock and the Pond House paddock). From the Pond House, just follow the fence from near your front door to the woods, and you will see the trails taking you into the woods (and you will find a great rope swing at the edge of the woods). From the Milker's Cottage or from Baldy's Retreat, walk straight past the barns and past the Servants' Cottage and between the two fenced paddocks. There is also a short loop trail from the parking lot of the Black Meadow Pavilion, which has signage and blaze markings.
Fishing:
The fishing in the two large ponds is awesome. They are each full of bass and bream. Feel free to cook what you catch if you want, as they need to be thinned out so they can keep growing. The fishing gear is on the back porch of the Pond House and in the Game Barn (the small red barn down toward the Pond House). By the time you read this, we may have changed our policy and require that fishing gear be checked out. We have a lot of trouble with it getting tangled, lost or broken. If you want to find your own worms, just go in the woods and turn over a dead log or two. You can also buy night crawlers in Gordonsville at the Valero gas station at the traffic circle.
If you are really serious about your fishing, you can ask the staff about the hidden ponds. There could be a monster bass in one of them, though the three or four state citation-sized bass we know of from the farm came from the pond behind the Pond House and from the front pond near the railroad tracks.
If you do not have fishing experience and you need some help, let us know and we may be able to arrange “lessons”.
Swimming Hole at the Creek:
The swimming hole is right beside our road where the road crosses Mountain Run. There is room to park a few cars in the swimming hole area, and there is a bench down there. The swimming hole is about chest deep on an adult most of the time. The water stays pretty cool since it is part of a running creek. The bottom is just dirt, and a little squishy, but not bad at all. If you have some sandals or water shoes, that may make it more pleasant, and also enable you to walk down the creek. There are small fish in the swimming hole that may test whether you are edible. It can be a little surprising when they taste you. Makes you jump.
Firepits & Firewood:
There are fire pits at each house for your enjoyment. Wood for the Manor House is stored in the Dairy Shed, the little concrete shed beside the Manor House patio. For the Servants' Cottage, it is on the covered patio. For the Pond House, it is on the back porch. For the Milker's Cottage, it is on the porch. For Baldy's, it is on or near the back deck. For the Barn Apartment and for Cox Mill, it is in deck boxes that are in plain view. As Smokey says, “Remember, only you can prevent forest fires.” There are also working fireplaces in the Dining Room and Living Room of the Manor House, in the living room at the Cox Mill House, and in the Den at Baldy's Retreat.
At the Glamping Tents (behind the Black Meadow Pavilion), there is a communal firepit between the tents and the Pavilion, with firewood supplied. Please, no fires near the tents. Too dangerous.
Manor House Hot Tub:
The hot tub is on the patio at the Manor House and is principally for the Manor House guests. Guests in other houses may reserve the Party Patio, with its hot tub.
Outdoor Games:
You will find horseshoe pits behind the Manor House, in the back yard of the Milker's Cottage and by the side of the Cox Mill House.
There are rope swings near the far corner of the paddock behind the Game Barn, where you can also enter the trails into the woods. There is also a child-sized swing set down there in plain view.
Other outdoor toys and sports items are stored in the Game Barn (the small red barn toward the Pond House). Here’s what we try to keep in there:
● Bicycles (there should be hand pumps in the Game Barn). You may also find bicycles at Baldy's and at the Cox Mill House, for your convenience. It is difficult, but not impossible, to bike in the woods. Biking on Wolf Trap Drive is pretty good, except for the hill down the front. If you want to bike on local roads, we recommend going out the back gate to Cox Mill Road. It works to bike into Gordonsville (right turn out the back gate). Its less than four miles and the road is pretty most of the way. It is narrow, and there is traffic. As you come to Gordonsville, stay on Cox Mill where it makes a 90 degree left turn, then take the next two right turns and you will be in downtown Gordonsville.
● Croquet Set
● Soccer Goals and ball
● Children’s Wagons
On the back porch of the Pond House you will find the Bimini Ring Game, supposedly invented by Hemingway on Bimini Island. The game is pretty simple; just try to swing the ring so it lands on the hook. It can be done!
It is not a formal game, but kids love to jump on the hay bales out by the equipment shed (in season). They also enjoy trying to catch insects with the nets we leave at the houses.
The Game Barn:
There is a pool table, a ping pong table, air hockey and a foosball table in the Game Barn, as well as darts and other games.
Petting Horses:
The folks at the stables usually are gracious and friendly to our guests. They have asked that our guests not enter the barns unless someone on the barn staff invites them or agrees they may come in. Children and dogs need to be very closely supervised if they visit the stables. Please do not go inside the paddocks when horses are inside. Guests often feed the horses apples and carrots AT THEIR OWN RISK! Horses sometimes bite, either on purpose or by accident. Please slice apples or other fruit before feeding it to the horses. They can choke on a full sized apple. Feel free to feed pears from the two pear trees between the Manor House and bell-roofed barn, if the trees are fruiting.
Riding Lessons:
Our newest barn tenant, Sommers Olinger, teaches riding. Some of our more recent guests have enjoyed having lessons with him. Note: Sommers is an independent operator, and not an employee of the farm. You make your arrangements with him, not with the farm. His number is 540-360-8021.
Page 4
Outdoor Activities in the Area:
Our External Links Page has links to web pages for these activities - click here
Horseback Riding:
Many of our guests enjoy trail rides at Oakland Heights Farm. It is very close. Go out to Highway 15 and turn left towards Gordonsville. Immediately start looking to your right for the Oakland Heights driveway. Its less than ½ mile. The phone is 540-222-6576. Call ahead and make an appointment and tell them you are staying at Wolf Trap. (If you happen to be at the farm on the second Saturday of the month May through September, Oakland Heights puts on Professional Bull Riding events. Check their website.)
Rafting and Tubing:
This is not close by, but it is a great activity in the heat of summer. James River Reeling and Rafting in Scottsville is about an hour away. They run a very professional operation on the James River. The phone number is 434-286-4386.
Hard to believe, but you can find real whitewater rafting in Richmond at Riverside Outfitters. That stretch of the James River includes impressive class 3 & 4 rapids. It is a one hour and 10 minutes’ drive from the farm. The phone number is 804-560-0068.
Hot Air Ballooning:
This is expensive, but if this is on your “Bucket List”, here’s a chance to scratch it off. The operators will come to the farm for lift-off. They are Bonn-Air Charters, and the phone number is 434-981-5260. There are others as well, including Blue Ridge Ballooning and Virginia Hot Air Ballooning.
Sky Diving:
Another “Bucket List” item? Call Skydive Orange at 540-943-6587. This is at the local airport in Orange, just 15 minutes away. It is not cheap, but are you really shopping for a cheap skydiving service? Our oldest grandson just did his first tandem skydive as his high school graduation present from the grandparents and loved it. Must be at least 18.
Skyline Drive (Shenandoah National Park):
It takes about 50 minutes to reach Skyline Drive from the farm. You take Highway 33 North from the traffic circle in Gordonsville and stay on it until you intersect the Skyline Drive. You pass through Ruckersville, where there are lots of antiques malls and shops. If you go South on Skyline Drive, you can get off at I-64 and return to the farm via Shadwell and Keswick, which is one of the most beautiful drives in America.
Massanutten Resort (Skiing, Waterpark, Resort Activities):
It is a one hour drive to Massanutten, which is just right for a day trip from the farm. In winter, there are all the snow activities. In the summer, the water park is great. There are also family adventure areas, mini-golf, mountain biking, and plenty of other resort activities. This is a great place to take the kids if they cannot stand the peace and quiet at the farm.
Liberty Mills Farm (Somerset):
Liberty Mills Farm is about 20 minutes drive from the farm. Each fall, they design a huge corn maze, said to be one of the largest east of the Mississippi at 33 acres, with up to ten miles of trails. They also have strawberries, pumpkins, and festivals at different times of the year. Look them up to see what may be going on during your stay at the farm.
Grelen Nursery:
Grelen Nursery in Somerset is about a 20-minute drive from the farm. In addition to traditional nursery offerings, they offer pick-your-own blueberries, blackberries, peaches, plums and apples Phone number is 540-672-5462, or check their website.
Wineries:
The farm is very convenient to several of the best wineries in the state. Barboursville Winery is sort of the “mother church” for Virginia wineries. The Zonins, a prominent Italian winemaking family, founded it in 1976, and it has developed into a very successful, award winning winery. It is about a 15 minute drive from the farm, straight up Highway 33 from the Gordonsville traffic circle.
Barboursville has a wonderful tasting room. While you are there, take time to view the Barboursville Ruins, which are on site. It has the largest boxwoods you will ever see. Also, in the village of Barboursville there are several nice art galleries, well worth stopping in.
As you drive to Barboursville, you will pass Horton Cellars. Horton also has a nice tasting room and fine wines, but we suggest you hit Barboursville first and do Horton on the way back if you still have capacity. A bit further beyond Barboursville, toward Charlottesville on Highway 20, is Burnley Vineyards. (Frankly, we do not recommend Burnley.)
As you drive from the farm toward Orange, less than a mile after you turn onto Highway 15, you will find the “Offsite Tasting Room” at Hona Lea Vineyards. They pour wines from several of the local wineries that do not have their own tasting rooms. Hona Lea is also a farm store, offering produce and local canned goods and such. It is on the left side of the highway as you go toward Orange. If you miss it on the way to Orange, you can spot their signs and drop in on the way back.
If you visit Monticello or head into Charlottesville via 231 through Keswick, you will pass Keswick Vineyards, and Jefferson Vineyards is very near to Monticello, as you might guess. We are not impressed by the wines at Keswick, but the setting is fabulous (and what do we know about wines). You will also see the signs for Castle Hill Cidery, which produces hard ciders, a Virginia tradition. They have a nice tasting room and beautiful views as well.
If you head toward Charlottesville on Highway 33, for a trip to Skyline Drive, Ruckersville, etc., you may want to take time to visit Madison, just a few miles north on Highway 29. There you will find Early Mountain Vineyards, which has a magnificent tasting room and gift shop, plus our favorite Virginia wines. They offer food, as well as wine, so you might want to make this a lunch destination. While in the Madison area, you will want to visit Yoder Farm Store and the Plough & Hearth Outlet Store.
See our External links page for winery websites - click here
Page 7
Historic Attractions:
Monticello:
If you have not been to Monticello, it is not to be missed. Jefferson had such an eye for beauty, and his home demonstrates that fact. It is a gorgeous location and the home and grounds are just magnificent. It is the only World Heritage Site in Virginia. How many of those will you see in your lifetime?
Also, it is a beautiful drive from the farm to Monticello. You go to the Gordonsville traffic circle and proceed on 231 South. You will pass through Keswick, then Shadwell, where you will merge onto Highway 250. Just follow the signs to Monticello.
Allow time to stop at Michies Tavern, which is just before Monticello. It’s a good place to plan on having lunch if you are doing Monticello in the afternoon. Otherwise, eat lunch before you leave Gordonsville.
Madison’s Montpelier:
There is a special connection between Wolftrap Farm and James and Dolley Madison's Montpelier home. James and Dolley Madison once owned the land that is now Wolf Trap Farm. It was one of the Madisons' "outlying farms", and as the crow flies, is only about 5 miles from their home farm, Montpelier. Madison called the Wolftrap Farm property “Blackmeadow”, for some reason. “Blackacre” is what lawyers call a generic farm, just as they call unknown males “John Doe”. Madison was probably playing on this idea when he called this land “Blackmeadow”.
The recent history of Montpelier and its ongoing restoration is fascinating. Upon Madison’s death, Dolley and her drunkard son could not maintain Montpelier, and it was sold. A century later, it was purchased by the DuPont family. Marion Scott Dupont was a child at the time, and she grew up at Montpelier and spent the rest of her life there as a leading American horsewoman. Montpelier was more than tripled in size by the Dupont family, and it became a center for American steeplechase racing. Mrs. Dupont owned the first American horse to win the Grand National Steeplechase in England.
When she died, Mrs. Dupont left Montpelier to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, with the instruction that Montpelier be restored to be as it was during Madison’s day. A decade later, Paul Mellon, another horse lover, made a bequest that provided the funds to begin the restoration. It took about 5 years to complete the work on the home, and it is still only partially furnished. It is not as grand as Monticello, but it is still pretty wonderful. There is an old growth forest there if you want to see what our eastern woodlands really looked like when the Native Americans were its only inhabitants.
To appreciate Montpelier, you need to appreciate the leading role that Madison had in the development of the U.S. Constitution. Madison showed up at the Constitutional Convention with a plan in hand, known as the Virginia Plan. This Plan of a three-branch government with bicameral legislature and a system of checks and balances became the basis for the Constitution. At Montpelier, you can spend time in the room where Madison developed the Virginia Plan and can gaze upon the same mountains he gazed upon when he looked up from his work. (Then when you return to the farm, you can speculate on whether you are still walking on paths that “Mr. Jimmy” trod. Jefferson called his friend Madison "the best farmer in America", so we can assume that Mr. Jimmy often checked on his Blackmeadow farm.)
Montpelier is just on the other side of those mountains you see when you look toward the sunset from the farm. There is a gravel road over the mountains into the back gate of Montpelier, but we send guests the long way through Orange so they won’t get lost. Just take Highway 15 into Orange, don’t turn right at the “Y”, but stay straight to the dead end on Main Street. Then turn left on Highway 20 and drive the 5 miles to the entrance.
You can make the return trip to the farm more interesting if, when leaving Montpelier, you turn left instead of back toward Orange. After about 4 miles you will intersect Route 231 Take 231 South and you will enjoy a beautiful drive through Somerset back to the Gordonsville traffic circle. You should know how to get back to the farm from there.
Wilderness Battlefield:
Wilderness was in the national news a lot about 15 years ago due to the controversy about Walmart wanting to put in a supercenter near the battlefield. That plan was abandoned, and they found a new site for Walmart further from the battlefield. The Wilderness battle was the first time Grant went head-to-head with Lee. Grant won, and kept on winning after that, so the Wilderness battle really marked the turning point in the Civil War.
The battlefield is at the Northeast corner of Orange County, up Highway 3. To get there, drive into Orange and follow the signs to Highway 3.
Exchange Hotel Civil War Museum:
This is right in Gordonsville. It is well worth seeing. Gordonsville was a railroad town, with several lines intersecting here. The “Exchange Hotel” was where travelers on one line would stay overnight to catch a train on another line. The hotel became a Confederate hospital during the Civil War, and it is now a museum featuring the hospital and camp experiences of Civil War soldiers. You will also learn a bit about Gordonsville’s role in the Civil War. Union troops made several efforts to capture this important transportation center, but never succeeded.
James Madison Museum:
This is a nice museum right in Orange dedicated to President Madison. Go into Orange and stay straight, rather than bearing right to stay on Highway 15.
Ashland Highlands:
This was James Monroe’s home for some years. It is near Monticello, and guests who visit it usually add it on to a visit to Monticello. It does not consume nearly as much time. What is so remarkable is that Presidents 3, 4 & 5 were literally neighbors who visited one another regularly.
Monroe was #5.
Our external links page has websites for these historic sites - click here
Page 9
SPECIALTY SHOPPING:
Gordonsville:
Downtown Gordonsville has lots of little shops featuring antiques, gifts, clothing and jewelry and fine art. Rather than tell you what is there, let’s just assume you will go walk the Main Street and drop in whatever shops you find that interest you.
Outside of downtown in Gordonsville, there is Floridise Orchids. You pass it just before you reach the traffic circle, up on the hill on your right. This is well worth the stop. The owners are real pros and the orchids are wonderful.
There are several additional antique places just south of downtown Gordonsville on Highway 15. There’s an antiques mall just on the edge of town down there. However, your best antiquing experience in the area will be at the Highway 15 Gallery, which is right on Highway 15 about half way between the farm and Gordonsville. It features higher end antiques. It is big enough to have an airplane sitting inside the sales floor. There are usually some interesting mid-century modern offerings, as well as art objects. You will not find any “flea market” items.
Orange:
The most unique shop in Orange is Moseby’s Antiques, which specializes in Civil War items. It is more like a museum than a store. The hours are somewhat unpredictable. It is on Main Street down toward the railroad tracks. Don’t miss it.
As with Gordonsville, if you go to downtown Orange you will surely walk Main Street and find all the little shops. There are several antique shops and gift shops, and the Orange County Arts Council gallery.
You should stop by the tourist information center in the old train station in Orange to get more ideas on things you might like to do while in the area.
Charlottesville:
The historic downtown is the place for specialty shopping in Charlottesville. It has everything: antiques, art, children’s museum, coffee shops, you name it. This is a lively place to be, particularly on week-end nights.
For ideas on nightlife, music, special events and other entertainment, pick up a copy of the Charlottesville Hook in Gordonsville at the Food Lion.
Culpepper:
The historic downtown in Culpeper is sort of a Gordonsville times 10, when it comes to antiques, gifts, clothes, neat shoppes, etc. It is about a 30 minute drive north on Highway 15.
Ruckersville:
Ruckersville is another place for antique buffs. It is about a 25 minute drive, straight up Highway 33 from the Gordonsville traffic circle.
Zion Crossroads:
Need a Wal-Mart or a Lowes? They are at Zion Crossroads at the intersection of Highway 15 and I-64. Just follow Highway 15 south through Gordonsville and you will be there in about 15 minutes.
Granola Lovers:
There is a farmers market in Orange each Saturday morning. In cold weather, it is in the old train station.
Yoder Farm Store in Madison is very upscale and has a large variety of interesting farm and locally produced products.
Page 10
Restaurants:
Gordonsville:
The restaurant choices in Gordonsville are OUTSTANDING, far better than you have any right to expect in such a small village.
Près Des Prés is an authentic French restaurant in downtown Gordonsville. It receives rave reviews from people who know great cuisine. It’s a bit expensive, and as of now is only open for dinner.
Fabio’s is much better than you would guess from the exterior. It is in the Food Lion Shopping Center on Route 231 South. A family from Naples, Italy owns Fabio’s, and different family members rotate to the U.S. to handle the kitchen duties. The food is unbelievable, particularly if you order from the daily specials board. The pasta is homemade daily. The pizza and calzones are much better than the chains provide, but the entrees are what you should try. Everyone knows about the Barbeque Exchange and the Ice House, but you will find many of the locals who are in the know at Fabio’s.
The Barbeque Exchange is right on Main Street at the edge of town. The owner is a chef at Keswick Hall, so as you might expect, this is not your usual barbeque joint. You do not need to dress up for dinner to fit in here. This place has become very popular, and sometimes you will have trouble finding a place to park. It has been named "Best Bar-b-que Place in Virginia" by several publications and the Food Network designated it as having the best Bar-b-que sandwich in America.
The Gordonsville Ice House has never disappointed our family or guests The fried chicken is special (cooked in good old lard), and allows you to acknowlege Gordonsville’s heritage as the 19th century “Fried Chicken Capital” (due to local women selling fried chicken through the windows of passenger rail cars during that era).
East of Maui is an upscale coffee shop near the traffic circle. It also offers light food. Everybody loves it.
China Restaurant, also in the Food Lion Shopping Center, is your typical Chinese take-out place. When you want Chinese food, there it is.
Well Hung Vineyard is lunch only. The food is good and “cute”, though pricey. The wine? Let’s not talk about it.
Patch Brewing Company is just outside of town on Route 231 South. It is a fun place to hang out in the evenings, with its fire pits, craft beers, play areas for the kids and dogs, and food from various food trucks that visit regularly. It has become a popular activity - Gordonsville’s version of “night life”.
Orange:
The choices are better in Gordonsville, but if you are heading to Orange for other reasons, here are the restaurant recommendations.
We recently discovered Cooper’s Cooking & Catering, on the right on Highway 15 as you are getting to Orange. Its “soul food” country cooking, and the portions are huge. One order feeds two people.
Silk Mill Grill is on Route 15 on the far side of Orange, just before the Sheetz. Its big and can be noisy, but the food is good American fare.
Near the Silk Mill Grill are several new upscale places we have not yet tried, but which are getting good reviews. One is Provisions Market Table.
Mario’s is at the end of Main Street past the railroad tracks. The buffet gets dried out and is not so great, but if you order off the menu you can get very good southern Italian food.
Mountain View Bar-b-que is in the same shopping center as Tractor Supply. It is fine, but if you are looking for bar-b-que, why not go to Gordonsville to the Bar-b-que Exchange.
Getting Food Delivered to the Farm:
The only place that will deliver to the farm is Mama’s Pizza in Orange. Their number is 540-672-2003. You may have to remind them that they committed to deliver to Wolftrap Farm even though it is about ½ mile beyond their normal delivery boundary. Tell them the house name and have them call the farm number or Tina if they are unsure about finding the house.
Barboursville:
The Palladio Restaurant at Barboursville Winery is out of my league. I think only read food experts belong there. Guests have told me that they had the best meal of their lives there, and these were people who had obviously been to a lot of fine restaurants. Check it out on the web and be sure to call ahead for what is on the schedule. Dinner is five or more courses. More limited lunch menu.
Page 12
Electronic Equipment, the Trash, Etc.
Televisions and Internet Access:
There are TV’s in the James Room, the Bunk Room, the Suite, and the den at the Manor House. Each of the other houses has at least one TV. All of them are Roku TV’s, so you can sign in to whatever streaming services you subscribe to. The houses are all now on fast fiber optic internet service. Password: WolfTrap
Washer/Dryers:
You are free to use the washers and dryers at the Pond House, the Milker's Cottage, the Barn Apartment, Baldy's Retreat, the Cox Mill House and in the basement of the Manor House. If you are in the Servants' Cottage and need to use a washer/dryer, check with Tina and she can give you access to the washer/dryer in the Black Meadow Pavilion or in the Manor House basement.
Trash:
The trash cart for the Manor House is behind the dairy shed (the little building by the patio). One cart stays around behind the Pond House, one at Baldy’s Retreat and one behind the Milker's Cottage and the Cox Mill House for your convenience. We do not have a cart for the Servants’ Cottage or the Barn Apartment yet. There are large trash barrels at each of those spots. The staff will often haul your trash bags if you leave them on the back porch of the Manor House. Our big commercial dumpster is at the working end of the Cox Mill Pavilion, and you are free to use it.
Phones:
We have eliminated the land lines at the houses since no one used them anyway.
Page 13
Emergency Contacts:
Tina is at 540-222-0414. Keith can be reached by calling the main farm number, 540-832-1803. The address of the farm for emergency purposes is 17379 Wolftrap Drive, Gordonsville, VA 22942. The Milker's Cottage address is 17305 Wolftrap Drive. Baldy's is 17556 Wolftrap Drive. The Cox Mill House is 13324 Cox Mill Road, Gordonsville, VA. Emergency personnel will know how to find it. As elsewhere, to reach emergency responders, call 911.
The closest hospitals are in Charlottesville. There is a medical clinic in Orange north of town on Highway 15. There are pharmacies in Orange and in Gordonsville.
Page 14
Brief History of Wolf Trap Farm:
The farm now consists of 584 acres, about half woods and half pasture. The land was owned by James Madison during the late 1700’s, before anything was built on it. In 1856, the Scott family built the front part of the Manor House as a “duplex”, and several barns on the property and the “Servants Cottage” date from that same time period.
The Scott family was in residence until the early 1900’s, when the Sidlinger family took over. They added the back “El” to the Manor House (the dining room, kitchen and upstairs servant’s quarters that is now the Suite).
In the early 1940’s the farm became a modern dairy. That is when the bell-roofed barn, the dairy shed, and the Milker's Cottage were built. You might enjoy looking in the Dairy Shed to see the milk cooling trough and notice the shallow well under the Dairy Shed.
The Von Wulffen family acquired the farm in the early 1970’s and named it Wolf Trap Farm. This name was taken from the Wolf Trap Branch, a creek that originates back in the woods of the farm, and that name fit nicely with the Von Wulffen family name. The Von Wulfens were a titled German family who lost their ancestral estates in eastern Germany when the Soviet Union took over that portion of Germany at the close of WWII. After some years in Iran, they moved to Virginia and raised their family here. After the reunification of Germany, the Von Wulfens returned to Germany to reclaim their ancestral estates.
The Cuthrell family, from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, acquired the farm in 2003, rebuilt the buildings, listed the property on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register, and opened the Manor House and Pond House to paying guests. The stables were put back in order and have served as home base for various equestrian competitors and trainers. The Servants’ Cottage was renovated and became an additional guest house in 2012. Part of the Equipment Barn was turned into the Cox Mill Pavilion in 2014 to host wedding receptions and other events. In 2015, the Milker's Cottage was changed from a tenant house to be another vacation rental home. In 2016, Baldy's Retreat was added. In early 2017, the former tack room and lounge of the big barn were converted into the Barn Apartment. Later in 2017, the Cox Mill House was added. In 2018, due to very high demand for weddings at the farm, the Black Meadow Pavilion was constructed. The first glamping tent was added in 2019, and two more were added in 2020. In 2023, the new Love Pond wedding site was added.
More History if you like that sort of thing - click here
Keith Cuthrell is a now-retired lawyer and business owner who has rejuvenated a number of historic properties. Keith practiced law for almost 40 years with a prominent Virginia firm, focusing on business law. He spends a limited amount of his time at the farm overseeing its operations and enjoying the lifestyle of the area. He handles the reservations and most of the emailing and marketing for the farm. Keith and his wife, Deborah, have three adult children and six grandchildren.
Our Staff:
The Owner, Keith Cuthrell, handles the emails and calls for reservations at the farm from wherever he might be when the emails and phone calls arrive.
Tina Atkins is hostess and head of housekeeping. David Strick heads up the maintenance at the farm.
Two of our staff members live almost next door to the farm, within literally a few hundred yards from the front and back entrances. Another lives 6 miles away.
The people you will see working with the horses are not farm employees. They have their own independent operation at the barns, which they rent from the farm.