State honors Clark County farm in the same family for 200 years

James Clark, a member of the family who owned and managed Grandview Farms in Clark County. The farm is being honored by the Ohio Department of Agriculture and has been in the same family for more than 200 years. Contributed photo

James Clark, a member of the family who owned and managed Grandview Farms in Clark County. The farm is being honored by the Ohio Department of Agriculture and has been in the same family for more than 200 years. Contributed photo

The Ohio Department of Agriculture honored this week a historic Clark County Farm that has been in the same family for more than 200 years.

Grandview Farms, a 725-acre farm at 5050 Moorefield Road, was initially acquired in 1811 through a land grant from the Northwest Territory, according to information from the state. Founder James Foley, a forester who also briefly served as a state representative, spent most of his life clearing the valley along Buck Creek to raise crops and livestock.

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Together, the Clark and Foley families developed the farm into a successful business.

Janet Weber, a descendant of Foley, still lives at the farm with her husband, John and her sister, Gloria. Her three daughters and their families also live in separate houses on the farm. Weber couldn’t be reached for comment.

More than 200 years after it was initially acquired, the farm still contains 521 acres of the original land.

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State officials honored the family at Tuesday night during the annual meeting for the Clark County Soil and Water Conservation District.

The family continues to grow corn, soybeans and hay, along with livestock. The family received the East Region Show Bull of the Year Award from the American Hereford Association in 2002 and was inducted into the Ohio Hereford Hall of Fame in 2003.

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Ohio’s Historic Family Farms Program began in 1993 with only a few hundred farms, according to information from the Ohio Department of Agriculture. State officials added a second designation in 2012 to honor families who have maintained their property for more than 200 years.

There are now more than 1,350 farms recognized across Ohio, including more than 30 in Clark County. At least two farms are represented in each of Ohio’s 88 counties.

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