Foxfire Heritage Farm is a family-run working farm dedicated to preserving endangered heritage breeds, traditional skills, and the kind of knowledge that too easily gets lost. This is our story.
The name comes from a book series that shaped the way Mattimus saw the world long before he ever owned a farm. The Foxfire books began in the late 1960s as a student magazine in the Appalachian Mountains of Georgia — young people interviewing their elders, documenting the crafts, customs, and old-time knowledge of rural mountain life before it disappeared.
Named after a phosphorescent lichen that glows softly in the dark of old-growth forests, the books covered everything from blacksmithing and hog dressing to faith healing, log cabin building, and Appalachian folklore. Twelve volumes were eventually published, becoming one of the most beloved series in American rural literature.
Mattimus's grandfather kept the series on his shelf. Those books became a doorway — into traditional skills, into the value of the old ways, and into a conviction that this kind of knowledge is worth preserving. When it came time to name the farm, the choice was clear.
"Named after a lichen that glows in the dark — we thought that fit."
Mattimus bought the farm with no agricultural background and no roadmap — just a goal to live more sustainably, recover lost skills, and reconnect with the old ways. Everything that followed was learned by doing. The land, the animals, the seasons, the failures, and the breakthroughs all became the education.
The farm's mission took shape around heritage breed conservation — raising rare and endangered animals that had been pushed aside by industrial agriculture. Lineback cattle, heritage pigs, and traditional poultry joined the land. Alongside them, the farm became a place to practice and teach traditional skills: blacksmithing, preservation, homesteading, and more.
Life, as it does, changed. In 2021, Mattimus and his then-partner separated. In 2023, Rachelle and her two daughters, Luna and Sage, came to the farm. Together with Mattimus's daughters Isis and Freya, a blended family took shape — one that runs the farm the way it was always meant to be run: together, by the people who live it.
Foxfire is now a true family farm in the deepest sense. Mattimus and Rachelle lead the work — and Isis, Freya, Luna, and Sage are very much a part of it. They grow up understanding where food comes from, how things are made, and why the old ways still matter. The farm is shaped by all of them.
The yurts grew from that same spirit — a desire to share the farm experience with people who'd never had it. The Pond Yurt and Double Yurt are hand-crafted on-site, and welcoming guests has become a meaningful part of the farm's rhythm. As a Superhost with hundreds of five-star stays, the hospitality has become something the whole family takes pride in.
Foxfire Heritage Farm is run by Mattimus and Rachelle, together with their four daughters. It's a blended family that came together around a shared love of the land, the animals, and the conviction that this way of life is worth building together.
Beyond the farm, Mattimus and Rachelle are involved with local Scouting & Guiding, 4-H, and the Farmers Market — a reflection of their belief that farming is a community act, not a solitary one.
The "Heritage" in our name runs deeper than the breeds we raise. It's a philosophy — about how food is grown, how skills are passed on, and what kind of farm we want to be.
We farm holistically and regeneratively — prioritising soil health, biodiversity, and the wellbeing of our animals over yield and efficiency. No monoculture. No shortcuts. A small-scale, diverse farm that works with nature rather than against it.
Many of the breeds we raise are endangered or critically rare. We raise them not just for meat or eggs, but because genetic diversity matters — and because these animals carry centuries of adaptation that industrial breeds cannot replace.
Canning, preserving, blacksmithing, yurt building, growing your own food, fixing your own things — we practice and teach the skills that sustained generations before us, and we believe they're just as valuable today.
There is deep satisfaction in making things with your hands. From the yurts built on-site to the food preserved in jars, making and crafting are woven into the daily life of the farm — and shared through our workshops.
This is a family farm in the fullest sense. Our kids are part of it. Our neighbours are part of it. We're involved in Scouts, Guides, 4-H, and the Farmers Market — because we believe farming is a community act, not a solitary one.
Foxfire — the original magazine series — was built on the idea that old knowledge must be documented and shared before it disappears. Our workshops, our farm stays, and this farm itself are built on that same conviction.
We don't aspire to be a big farm. We aspire to be a complete one. Our goal is a small-scale, fully integrated farm where nothing goes to waste, everything has a purpose, and the land is healthier each year than the one before.
That means avoiding monoculture, rotating animals across pasture, composting and returning nutrients to the soil, growing a diverse mix of vegetables, raising multiple heritage species, and approaching every decision through the lens of long-term land health rather than short-term gain.
It also means being honest about what we don't know yet, and continuing to learn — from the land, from our neighbours, from the old books on the shelf, and from the animals themselves. That's how it started in 2012, and that's still how it works.
The best way to understand what Foxfire Heritage Farm is about is to spend a night in one of our yurts, wander the trails, and meet the animals. We'd love to have you.