The Willow Oaks house, now on the historic register, sits on a tract of approximately 770 acres, which was originally part the William Byrd II “Land of Eden” of 26,000 acres—from which the nearby town of Eden derived its name. On October 25, 1755, William Byrd III sold “Land of Eden” to Francis and Simon Farley of Antigua. The Farley heirs were sued in 1804 by the heirs of Patrick Henry, who had also purchased this same land in 1799. The land, by then named Sauratown Plantation, was divided into large tracts. Tract #16 (2,644 acres) was sold by Brig. Gen. John Simon Farley of Jamaica to William Edward Brodnax on August 13, 1811.

Edward’s son Robert Brodnax built what is now the historic main house in 1818. The land was renamed Cascade Plantation. His daughter Mary W., who was married to her cousin, John Grammar Brodnax, a prominent Confederate medial officer, inherited the plantation. T.B. Fitzgerald purchased the land on August 2, 1890 and sold it to Richard Ivey Smith Jr. on January 17, 1916. The plantation was a working dairy farm from 1818 until the 1980s.

On August 30, 2001, Arthur Dick purchased Willow Oak Farm from Richard I. Smith and renamed it Willow Oaks Plantation. Mr. Dick also purchased an adjacent 481 acres to the west, and subsequently purchased 112 acres across the highway, with an additional 448 contiguous acres to the east, bringing the total acreage to 1828 acres.

Today, Willow Oaks Plantation is a wildlife plantation and tree farm. The habitat is extensively managed to allow native game and non-game species to thrive and meet their full potential. In 2007 a limited number of exclusive hunting packages were introduced. We are now also offering the Plantation as a corporate or family meeting destination and wedding venue for clients desiring a unique and picturesque setting.