>>> FOR OVER 200 YEARS, ONE HISTORIC HOME HAS CAPTIVATED THE
COMMUNITY OF GIBSONVILLE AND PROVIDED AN ENDURING ANCHOR
THROUGH MANY SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN NORTH CAROLINA HISTORY.
HEATHER BURGISS TAKES US TO HIGH ROCK FARM, WHERE OLD TALES OF
THIS SOUTHERN ESTATE LOOM AS LARGE AS THE NEW LEGACY OF A
THRIVING HISTORIC AND AGRICULTURAL ATTRACTION.
>> HIGH ON A HILL IN ROCKINGHAM COUNTY NEAR GIBSONVILLE STANDS A
HISTORIC HOME.
IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK, THEY WOULD TELL STORIES OF
STAGECOACH VISITORS, SCENES OF THE CIVIL WAR, AND OF ELABORATE
PARTIES THROWN THROUGHOUT THE YEARS AT HIGH ROCK FARM.
>> THE PREVIOUS OWNER, VERY WELL KNOWN IN ROCKINGHAM COUNTY,
BUT SHE WAS KNOWN TO HAVE VERY ELABORATE PARTIES.
WHITE RUG, FUR COATS.
AND MANY PEOPLE IN ROCKINGHAM COUNTY ATTENDED THAT.
>> BUILT IN 1807 BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN'S FOURTH GREAT
GRANDFATHER, HIGH ROCK FARM IS A PRESERVED JEWEL IN THE LEGACY OF
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY.
>> THE HOUSE WAS BUILT IN 1807 BY A JOSEPH McCAIN, WHO WAS A
RECENT IMMIGRANT FROM SCOTLAND, WHO'S LISTED AS A -- AN M.D. OR
DOCTOR.
>> HIGH ROCK FARM'S OWNER, RICHARD TEAGUE, SAYS IN 1991,
HIS LATE WIFE HAD THE VISION TO RESTORE THE HOME AND FARM TO ITS
FORMER GRANDEUR WHEN THEY BOUGHT IT UNDER THE WATCHFUL
EYE OF PRESERVATION NORTH CAROLINA.
>> SHE'D SPENT 20 YEARS FIXING THE HOUSE UP, AND IT JUST SEEMED
A SHAME NOT TO SHARE IT WITH THE COMMUNITY, AND SO THAT'S --
THAT'S WHY WE'RE DOING AND ROCKINGHAM COUNTY NEEDS MORE
THINGS FOR PEOPLE TO COME HERE AND VISIT.
>> THE FEDERALIST STYLE HOME FEATURES BEAUTIFUL PERIOD
CRAFTSMANSHIP IN EVERY ROOM, AND SOME SAY HIGH ROCK WAS
STYLISTICALLY AHEAD OF ITS TIME.
>> THIS ROOM, PARTICULAR ROOM, THE FIREPLACE THAT YOU SEE WITH
THE SUNBURST -- >> VERY ORNATE DETAILING,
DOWN TO THE MANTELS ON YOUR FIREPLACE, YOUR BIG, ORNATE
WINDOWS, UM, I THINK THAT REALLY BRINGS CHARACTER TO THE HOME.
>> EIGHT FIREPLACES CAN BE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE, AS WELL AS
ANTIQUE FURNITURE AND FAMILY PORTRAITS.
YOU'LL ALSO FIND GRANITE WINDOW SILLS AND ORIGINAL GLIMPSES OF
DAILY LIFE ON AN ANTEBELLUM FARM.
>> SO THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN HAND-CUT GRANITE, AND THAT WAS
BROUGHT ON THAT VERY ROCKY ROAD.
>> THE FARMHOUSE SITS OFF OF HIGH ROCK ROAD, ONCE THE ONLY
MAJOR ROAD BETWEEN GEORGIA AND WASHINGTON, D.C.
AND THE HOUSE WAS ONCE USED IN THE LATE 1800s AS A STAGECOACH
STAY AND ALSO A TAVERN AND POST OFFICE AT ONE TIME.
>> SO THIS IS WHERE YOU WOULD HAVE PAID TO STAY ON YOUR
JOURNEY, UM, DOWN HIGH ROCK ROAD, AND YOU BASICALLY PAID FOR
A SLOT IN THE BED.
YOU DIDN'T PAY FOR A ROOM LIKE YOU WOULD AT THE HILTON.
>> RICHARD AND HIS WIFE WANTED A NEW AGRICULTURAL IDENTITY FOR
HIGH ROCK WHEN THEY BEGAN PLANTING CHESTNUT TREES ON THE
FARM IN 1991.
NOW THE FARM HOSTS A CHESTNUT FESTIVAL HELD EVERY FALL.
>> IT TURNS OUT IT'S AN EXTREMELY GOOD AREA TO GROW
CHESTNUTS.
THE CHESTNUTS PROSPER HERE WELL.
>> HIGH ROCK FARM HAS OVER 500 CHESTNUT TREES AND 400 PECAN
TREES AND IS THE LARGEST PRODUCING CHESTNUT ORCHARD IN
THE MID-ATLANTIC WITH PRODUCTS LIKE GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR AND AREA
BREWERIES WHO USE HIGH ROCK'S CHESTNUTS TO MAKE CRAFT BEER.
>> WE'VE REALLY BEEN ON THIS CAMPAIGN OF REDISCOVERING
CHESTNUTS AND GETTING THE WORD OUT THERE AND GETTING PEOPLE TO
TRY IT AND COUPLING IT WITH THE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE.
>> SO A VISIT TO HIGH ROCK FARM WILL TAKE YOU BACK TO A TIME
LONG AGO, BUT IT WILL ALSO MAKE YOU APPRECIATE THE INGENUITY
THAT KEEPS THIS HISTORIC FARM VIABLE FOR THE FUTURE.
>> BUT I WOULD LOVE FOR THIS TO JUST CONTINUE TO BE A PLACE THAT
PEOPLE CAN COME AND LEARN.
THEY'RE ABLE TO CONNECT THE HISTORY OF THE PAST,
THE IMPORTANCE OF WHERE THIS HOME SITS, THE IMPORTANCE OF,
UM, ITS VALUE TO THE COMMUNITY, WHAT IT WAS IN THE PAST AND WHAT
IT IS NOW.