2626 Rokeby Road

Along the gravel stretch of Rokeby Road, across the bridge at Gap Run, Brookside Farm unfolds as it has for nearly two centuriesa timeless property in the heart of Piedmont Hunt Country. Its 1840s house, historic outbuildings, and 185 acres form a remarkably intact landscape shaped over generations. Hayfields rise toward sweeping views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, streams wind beneath mature trees, and historic structures rest naturally within the countryside. At the heart of the farm stands the stately yet unpretentious 1840s residence, built of stone and stuccoed brick. Originally two structuresa main house and stone cook housethey were joined in the 1960s by a fieldstone kitchen. Thoughtfully updated over time, the house retains its original character. A broad screened porch welcomes visitors, while the former cook house now serves as an informal den. An original swinging service door opens to the spacious dining room, and the back hall connects the upper rooms, basement, front landing, and rear stone terrace beside the brook. The library features a fireplace and floor-to-ceiling bookcases framing the front hall. The original formal entrance retains its sidelights and transom, and a graceful staircase features a walnut handrail and turned balusters. The generous living room offers tall windows, original woodwork, and a fireplace. Upstairs, the spacious primary bedroom, one of three bedrooms with fireplaces, overlooks the grounds and accommodates both sleeping and sitting areas. The upper hall leads past two full bathrooms to another bedroom overlooking the brook. A second staircase opens to a sitting room and adjoining bedroom, currently used as an office. Both access a large second-story screened sleeping porch, with exposed rafters and wood floorsa wonderfully preserved reminder of an earlier era of summer living. Across the gravel drive, beneath mature persimmon, dogwood, and cherry trees, the carriage house offers three large storage bays and a fourth bay serving as a paddock run-in shed. An expansive hayloft above offers further possibilities. The barn incorporates stonework from Hollands Mill, a former woolen factory destroyed by fire in 1864. Its immense hayloft, built into the hillside, remains accessible at grade through large double doors. West of the barn, behind the silo and partly concealed by vines, stands a largely intact, imposing dry-laid stone structure believed to have served the mills operations. Across the road, an 1840s log cabin retains its early character, with a large living room, fireplace, and stairs to the second floor. A spring beside the kitchen entrance still runs clear and cold, bordered by watercress. Behind the cabin, a tractor path climbs through the fields to expansive views across the farm. Mature oaks line the hilltop, where the land transitions into a shaded woodland corridor. Some 35 acres of mature forest, historically identified on early surveys as Jacobs Ladder, preserve a network of worn trails. The woods descend toward the broad bends of Gap Run and rise along a ridge behind the hayfield. At Brooksides highest elevation, the ridge commands sweeping views of the countryside, the Cobbler, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. The land is protected by a conservation easement held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.