By Cindy Savoldi
I was invited to the Burt farm on a cold January day. From my home within the city limits of Holly Springs, the landscape quickly changes in just five short miles from rows of houses in subdivisions to a rural landscape of curving roads and rolling hills, dotted with livestock and pastures. The drive to the Burt farm on the border of Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina transports you to a different time. Despite the frigid temperature, entering their driveway was like a refreshing glass of lemonade on a hot summer day.
I stopped my car in front of the two-story white farmhouse. I was first greeted by their Australian Shepherd, Ellie, who pawed at me excitedly and quickly laid down at my feet anxious for a few scratches. My photographer and I knocked on the front door, and Mr. Fred Burt soon appeared from the side, explaining, “We aren’t used to people coming to the front door. Friends always enter at the side.” I knew this assignment was going to be different than any other.
“We all have one thing in common, and that is where we live. When people feel an attachment to where they live, the entire community benefits socially, emotionally, and financially,” taught Angie Staheli in her TEDx talk given in June 2018. “Feelings of belonging actually make the difference between merely surviving and thriving in life.” This is evident as you enter the Burt home. After 10 generations on this property, their family has definitely found a way to thrive.
The Burt family is believed to have first arrived in the Jamestown area of Virginia in the 1620s. At some point, a branch of the Burts migrated south to the colony of North Carolina. King George II issued a land grant of 25 square miles (approximately 16,000 acres) to the Burt family in 1754. The farm has fluctuated in size since then, but has stayed in the Burt family for over 200 years. They proudly hang a “North Carolina Bicentennial Farm” sign on one of their barns, a claim few can make.
Today, the Burt farm is a working farm of roughly 700 acres. Farming has evolved over the years. “Finding ways to make farming sustainable has been a challenge,” says Burt. “We have had to change with the times, finding ways to continue to make a living while farming.” Burt has handed off day-to-day operations to his son, John, but still has input on the farm. Today the Burt farm offers full-service horse boarding; runs alfalfa, coastal, and orchardgrass hay sales; and has custom Angus beef cattle.
While boasting 10 generations of family living on the Burt farm, they also boast multiple generations of college graduates. “My family has understood the value of an education. My granddaddy got his degree in English from what was then Trinity College, now Duke University. Isn’t that the oddest thing for a farmer to study? When I asked him why a farmer would choose to major in English, he taught me something powerful. He told me that if he was educated enough, he could learn to do most anything, and he knew that would serve a farmer well.”
The Burt family also has some very unique bragging rights. Members of the Burt family that have lived on the farm property have participated in literally every war the United States has fought in since the existence of our country. Patriotism runs strong and is evident throughout the Burt home with various patriotic pieces of artwork displayed. “I drew the line in the kitchen and the dining room,” tells wife Shirley. “We don’t need any bloody war scenes on the wall while we are trying to eat!”
Walking us through the house, Mr. Burt explained, “This house was built 100 years ago by my granddaddy, Max Burt. The night granddad and his new wife returned from their honeymoon in 1922 they went to cook their first meal. Some embers from the cook stove landed on the roof of their house and it quickly caught fire on the wood shingles. The house was a total loss. Fortunately, there was another house on the farm they were able to live in temporarily until he was able to build this house.”
Burt continued, “Having to be resourceful as they started out their marriage, most of the wood used to build this house was cut off of this farm property. They lost nearly all of their possessions that first week of their marriage.”
One big loss from the fire was the original land grant document. “Unfortunately, fires take everything in their path, and that original land grant document was one of the items lost. Thankfully they were able to salvage a few pieces that were on the first floor, and we are fortunate enough to have a few of those pieces today.”
Touring the farm with Fred Burt is like walking through the pages of a history book. He told us about both current and past farming operations as well as some memorabilia of days gone by. He showed us old highway signs that bore their family name. “Believe it or not, there was actually a town called ‘Burt’ at one point. I can remember when it consisted of two grist mills, a store, and about a dozen houses.”
Walking through the family cemetery felt like sacred ground. Most graves are only marked by rocks, however there were a couple that had names and dates etched into makeshift tombstones, with a birth date in Virginia dating back to 1752, and a death in 1826 on the farm. Two of the tombstones were more formal, with engraved names and dates. Joshua B. Welch was born in 1845 and died in 1914. His wife, Sarah Burt, was born in 1844 and died in 1912.
Preserving history is something Fred Burt is passionate about, whether that is his own family roots or world events. “History has always intrigued me, even as a young child,” explains Burt. Pursuing his passion in history has continued throughout his life. He currently is a Civil War battlefield tour guide. He also does World War II military history presentations several times a month at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh. “There are a lot of things about history that we need to remember. Winston Churchill taught, ‘Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.’ We have seen this play out so many times, even today. If we teach history as a cause and effect instead of teaching it to a test, that is when we really learn from it.”
Believing he was going to get sent to Vietnam, Burt joined the ROTC during his college days at NC State. While he didn’t end up serving in Vietnam, he stayed in active duty in the Army, and then served many years in the Reserves, including serving in Desert Storm. He fully retired from the Army in 2002. Burt’s son John also served 11 years in the Army. Both men served in the armed cavalry, from which the name of their horse farm, Iron Horse Farm, is derived.
Burt remembers when Burt Road only had four houses on it, and Fuquay Middle School was a K-12 school where he attended. Now, he hopes that future generations will be wise stewards of Wake County. As more and more construction encroaches on their farm, Burt hopes to see open space preserved. “With all the building that has gone on around us, we have problems with pastures flooding that we have never had. This is due to runoff from improved yards and the amount of pavement. There aren’t enough trees and open ground to absorb the moisture,” says Burt.
“Knowing who came before us, who the innovative geniuses were, who helped pave the way for us in our own city is what makes history come alive,” concluded Staheli in her TEDx talk. “It is those feelings of gratitude for those that have gone before us that gives us a desire to leave our own pages of history, adding to the story to pass on to future generations. When we understand our history, it means more to us. We have a desire to leave our own legacy.”
“When you have 270 years of roots in a place, it is part of you,” Burt reflects. “We don’t have records of all the people that were buried [in the graveyard]. Some are only marked by a rock. But they knew who was there. That is hard to walk away from.”
Despite concerns of encroachment, Burt hopes his future generations will continue farming. His family is very active in helping to preserve farming in Wake County and raise awareness of the importance of keeping farming here. “Farming is a critical piece to the history of Wake County, but it is also the livelihood of many families here. It continues to be an important part of the economy of Wake County,” says Burt. “As more subdivisions are built around farms, people tend to think it is open space for them to explore. We hope new people to the area will respect the farms. [Telling our story] is like public relations for farmers. It raises awareness that these are actually working farms.”
Hard work, grit, determination. These were certainly hallmarks of the original Burts that arrived over 200 years ago. These attributes clearly still run strong with the Burt family today.
