|
History of Land |
| The original 640 acres was purchased in 1934 by Gordon P Hughes, Grandfather of Don Spencer and Patsy Ryan. |
| Gordon was a member of one of Madison's oldest families. |
| The land was purchased from the Garret family for $0.50 per acre and for the next 70 years was known as the "Garrett Place". |
| The Garrett place lands were primarily used for livestock production from 1934 until Mr. Hughes passed away in 1984. Row crop production on the property during that time was limited to aprox. 100 acres of corn for cattle feed and 150 acres of cotton . A 100' tall grain storage silo stood in the middle of the property and for more than 60 years and was a noted landmark in the Madison sky line. Silo Hill Rd off of Browns Ferry was named for this landmark. |
| Don Spencer and Patsy Ryan were the heirs to the Garret place and in 1984 began share-renting the land to Ikard Farms for row crop production of cotton, wheat, soybeans and occasionally grain sorghum. By 2005 only 11 acres remained in row crops. |
| One of the most attractive elements of the Garret place is the lowland along Mill Creek that dissects the property. Betts Spring branch merges with Mill creek near the middle of the property and to this day they are still fresh water springs present along the creek. As late as the early 1980s remains could be found of sites where whiskey stills operated along Mill Creek and Betts Spring branch. Old Madison lore says that some of the best moonshine around was produced from the clear water flowing from some of the springs. |
| The family wanted to preserve the natural beauty of this creek bottom so in 1993 15 acres of the creek area was deeded to the Huntsville Land Trust and the remaining 20 acres is now in conservation easement as part of the Foxfield conservancy area. |
| In 1984 Patricia Ryan and husband Mike built their home on the highest point on the property which she aptly named Foxfield Farm. Pasty had a lifelong affinity for horses which she bred and sold at Foxfield Farm. Her history with horses led her from days of barrel racing in rodeos to English style fox hunting with hounds and horses. The hunt is what Patsy loved the most and she still regularly participates in hunts with the Mooreland Foxhounds in SE Limestone. Don Spencer was also an avid fox hunter and horsemen so the Foxfield name seemed to fit for the name of the development. |
| All the street names in Foxfield are named for aspects of the hunt. Foxfield Dr and Foxhound Dr names are obvious. Fieldmaster Dr- named for the leader of all the hunters in a group, Tyro Circle- tyro is the term for a newcomer to the sport of hunting with the hounds, Scarlett St- named for the scarlett red colors displayed on the coats of the experinced members of the hunt, Martingale Dr- named for a type of halter and bit used commonly on horses in the hunt, Huntfield Dr- the entire group of riders on a hunt is called the"huntfield". |
| The 102 acres that is now Foxfield was all that remained of the original section of land. Over the last 20 years there have been 4 other large subdivisions were developed on this farm and in 2006 the family decided it was time to develop this site. Foxfield Development LLC, is a family partnership between the Spencer's and the Ryan's with consulting on the project provided by Joe Murphy & Associates. |
