Our Farm's Story
4th Generation Family-Owned Land
The history of our farm dates back to 1780 and John Sparrow, who fought in the Revolutionary War, in the Battle of King's Mountain near Charlotte. After the war ended he settled here with a five-hundred-acre land grant. Our fifty acres is at the heart of this original grant. Three generations of the Sparrow family continued to live on this land until it passed out of the family in 1952 , when the original 1810 Homestead built by John Sparrow's son, William B. Sparrow was demolished and a more modern home was built. A few decades later, the property became an equestrian training and boarding horse farm.
In 1997, C. Douglas and Barbara McFadyen discovered and fell in love with the Farm. They knew something about the farm felt very special, but it was not until ten years after Doug's death in 1998 that it was discovered the Farm had belonged to Doug’s great, great, great, great Grandfather, John Sparrow! Over the years, the Farm has evolved into a home away from home and respite for Barbara, her husband Douglass Phillips, and their blended family of four grown children, their spouses, and six grandchildren - some of whom love to pitch in at the farm!
Fifty Acres of FarmBeauty
Over the last twenty-seven years, Eight Gates Farm has been transformed from an overcrowded horse farm with stables, tumble-down tack barns, and barbed wire fencing everywhere to a bucolic property, gently rolling hills, ponds, fields, and flower gardens. Named after the late Doug McFadyen’s venture company, Eight Gates Farm expanded from the original 29.7 to 50 acres in 2021. The Farm is located at the end of Mangum Court and surrounded on two sides by the NC Wildlife Preserve so that when you enter our gates, all you can see are trees and blue sky!
Halfway down the curving gravel drive is an immense Oak tree that dates back to the Revolutionary War with several other large Pin Oaks that once surrounded the federal-style 1810 homesite nearby. The remains of this structure were demolished in 1952 when a smaller, more contemporary farmhouse was built further down the drive. This has been recently renovated into a charming farm-style two-bedroom Guest house. Just past the Farmhouse are a state of the art woodworking shop and jewelry studio.
A regularly mowed walking path allows visitors to stroll around the gazebo, two beautiful ponds filled with fish, and a large butterfly garden (once a dressage riding ring) adjacent to our apiary with half a dozen bee hives and chicken yard. The rolling hills give way to an expansive field with the Barn in the background against the view of beautiful open sky.
Iron Feather Apiary
Happy hives make heavenly honeybee homes - and heavenly NC honey!
The bees in our hives are the gentler breed of Italian honeybees, Apis Melliflora. Safely surrounded by fifty acres of farmland, our bees are able to gather pollen and nectar from the large Butterfly Garden just behind their hives where a multitude of annual and perennial wildflowers grow. Three nearby ponds provide our bees with ample water sources. Depending on Spring swarms and the bees' activity, we average between five to ten hives in our apiary as the year unfolds. Each June, we harvest 100+ pounds of beautiful golden honey that is light and sweetly flavored by the many native North Carolina wildflowers here on the farm.
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Blue Heron Barn
A spectacular barn venue named after the cupola's blue heron weathervane.
Our spacious and exquisite barn was designed and built by the late Harry McLean of Chapel Hill Design in 2019, just before the pandemic. Since then, the Blue Heron Barn has hosted foundation dinners, a celebration of life, school fundraiser, bridal shower, and many birthday events. Perfect for events with 100+ guests, its unique features include two rustic double chandeliers, a large central ceiling fan, and stunning floor to ceiling 2' x 10' solid pine planks with tasteful uplighting. Two large barn style doors open on each end to reveal natural beauty of surrounding outdoors. The event space is 28 by 57 feet, with a separate conditioned kitchen space. The foyer features include a matching chandelier and restroom, and smaller barn style door. This area serves as the perfect greeting area for your guests as they arrive.
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Iron Feather Studio
A state of the art metalsmithing studio designed for intimate classes and residencies
Iron Feather Studio is the realization of Barbara's lifelong dream to build a freestanding studio dedicated for fine metalwork and enameling. Designed in 2019 and completed in 2022, this spacious, light-filled studio features high ceilings, skylights, and oak hardwood floors. Every window has a gorgeous view, from looking out over sweeping fields and flower gardens, watching passing wildlife or the farm’s flock of chickens. The studio’s workshop area is designed to hold intimate artist residencies or semi private classes. Barbara periodically teaches online and in-person classes with renowned craft schools, such as Arrowmont, John C. CampbellFolk School, Touchstone Center for Craft, Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Penland School of Craft, and Peter’s Valley.
Barbara is passionate about creating beautiful one of a kind, limited edition, or custom designs in gold, silver, and enamel accented with precious and semi-precious stones. Her unique and timeless creations are available online and at select fine galleries in the southeast. Visit www.barbaramcfadyen.com to see her collections and a full list of galleries where her work is shown. Check the news section to find when and where Barbara will be teaching workshops!
