Olive Boy Farm

Olive Boy Farm, also known as Spring Grove Farm and Wortley Tower, is located in rural Charles Town, West Virginia. Although the property was purchased in the late 18th century, the current Iltalianete sytle homestead was not constrructed until 1858. It is one of the few pre-Civil War structures in the area still used today. It is a private residence.

Although the current Olive Boy Farm house was not built until 1858, the land surrounding it was used as a farm as early as 1730. Mann Page was granted some 8,000 acres by Lord Fairfax that same year, and died shortly after. The land was subdivided, and in 1805 John Sinclair purchased a large portion of the land. He expanded his holdings, and left his daughter Elizabeth Blackburn the farmland containing the current Olive Boy Farm, then known as “Spring Grove”. 

Elizabeth, along with 25 enslaved people, ran the farm until her death in 1840. The farm stayed in the Blackburn family until Thomas Isabell purchased the farm in 1853. Isabell made drastic improvements to the farm and it’s buildings. In 1939, the Boyd family purchased the farm and gave it the name “Olive Boy”, apparently named after their bull. The farm continued to change owners throughout the 21st century. The residence continues to be a wonderful and unique example of Italianate architecture. 

Van de Hurk, Jeroen. “West Virginia Historic Property Inventory: Olive Boy Farm”. Coastal Carolina Research. May 7, 2015