On Rock Cliff Farm…

By Brian Bockhahn

"You come to the end of a dead end road, and crossing a line at a dip, your load of city worries, cares, and thought drops as you cross into Rock Cliff Farm, where peace, freedom, and joy were bought with the acres."

Those words still ring true today on Rock Cliff Farm. The dead end, the dip, and the quiet solitude are all still there, which is rare now in Wake County. The farm is now part of a recreation area at Falls Lake State Recreation Area and is managed by the Division of Parks and Recreation, with help from the B.W. Wells Association.

The historic farm is located at the end of a peninsula, surrounded by two bends of the Neuse River, now Falls Lake. Only open for guided tours, visitors experience the age of the site by driving in on a long, lonely gravel road. Upon arrival, the old buildings and structures make you feel like you’ve gone back in time – to the late 1800s when Joseph Newton Lowery lived and farmed there, the early 1900s when Charles Ray built innovative “Mangum Terraces” about the property, or the 1950s when North Carolina’s pioneer ecologist and premier botanist, B.W. Wells, purchased the farm.

Bertram Whittier (B.W.) Wells was born in Troy, Ohio in 1884 and spent the early part of his life there. In 1919, he moved to North Carolina and became the head of the Plant Pathology Department and professor of Botany at North Carolina State College (now NC State University). Wells traveled from the mountains to the sea, studying natural plant communities. He was the first to learn that North Carolina’s plant diversity across the state was comparatively the same from Maine to Florida. 

He summed up his discoveries in his landmark book The Natural Gardens of North Carolina, which was reprinted for the third time in 2002. It is still an apt resource in describing the relationships of plants in each of the state’s natural communities.

Upon retiring to Rock Cliff Farm, B.W. made many improvements on the site with the help of the caretaker, David Ray, and his family. The most prominent was the construction of a three-part studio, which still stands to this day. One part housed the many trail and farm tools which he used to blaze and maintain the trails on the farm. Another part housed all his books and resources, while the third was his tailor-made “den.” He put in a hand-built rock chimney for warming fires and installed a skylight for natural light by which he could paint. Throughout his retirement, B.W. kept regular office hours of 8 am - 5 pm. He continued research, correspondence with other scientists, and produced over 300 paintings, most of which he gave away.

B.W. passed away in 1978 at the age of 94, just as the U.S. Government was buying up land for Falls Lake. The land came into ownership by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but the farm was preserved as a historic site. Friends and colleagues formed the B.W. Wells Association to help the Corps maintain the trails and farm features. The early years consisted of workdays and picnics on the weekends. Many hard hours were put in to help preserve the site. In the 1990s, membership dwindled and the farm fell into disrepair. B.W.’s wife Maude became too lonely and moved out. The caretaker remained, and still does to this day, and diligently maintains what he can.

In 2000, members of the Wake Forest Garden Club and Wake County Master Gardeners attended one of the few remaining “guided tours” of Rock Cliff Farm. I took the group through the farm and along the lakeshore, showing them all of what I love about the site. After some discussion, and meeting with the current B.W. Wells Association president Benson Kirkman, an idea was born. The idea was to completely revive the B.W. Wells Association and restore what was left of the farm, before it was too late.
After a few years of hard work, the Association is back on its feet, and much progress has been made to begin restoring the farm and its trails. Guided tours are offered throughout the year, with the big draw being a spring open house, called the B.W. Wells Heritage Day (held April 2 this year). Last year’s inaugural event hosted 150 people from across the state. This year, participants enjoyed an expanded schedule and additional tours. History, geology, and wildflower hikes were offered, in addition to a canoe tour of the lakeshore.

The Association is working hard to preserve the farm and needs your help. We are looking for volunteers to help with trail and grounds work, garden and prairie restoration, documentation, and research.
Since the farm is only open for guided tours, take advantage of them or get a behind the scenes experience by volunteering to help on workdays or special projects. The lonely farm at the end of the dead end road, serene lakeshore, history, and mystery are all ready for discovery. 

Brian Bockhahn is the president of the B.W. Wells Association. For more information, visit the B.W. Wells Association website at <www.bwwells.org>.