OUR STORY
ABOUT PEACH HOUSE FARM
Located in Toccoa, Georgia, Peach House Farm is a family home and farm specializing in cut flowers. Originally built by David Franklin Thomason in 1909, the farmhouse was lovingly renovated in 2019 and is managed by descendants Caitlin and Ryan Greene, whose family has deep ties to the Toccoa and greater Currahee Mountain communities to this day. Peach House Farm’s 40 acres are maintained by farmer Stephen Dobek.
OUR VISION
LIFE ON THE FARM
Caitlin’s fondest childhood memories are of “life on the farm,” spending hours roaming and exploring this land alongside her brother (until their mother would call them in for dinner). Fast-forward to 2015, when we began daydreaming of transitioning from our fast-paced lives in San Francisco to a slower, more intentional way of living and raising our children.
These daydreams planted the seeds of our vision for Peach House Farm, beginning with a careful renovation of the farmhouse that was completed in 2019. In 2021, we’ve added a professional farmer to the team, and we invite you to follow along as we grow our first flowers, vegetables, and hemp…and maybe even start a distillery.
HOME & FARM STORY
With over 100 years of history, Peach House Farm is teeming with anecdotes and treasured family memories.
For background, the Victorian style farmhouse was constructed by David Franklin Thomason on Currahee Street in Toccoa in 1909. It was the only home in the area to have carbide lights and a telephone.
The farmhouse was constructed mostly of pine, except for four mantelpieces made of oak. The original roof was cedar shingle, which was unusual for the pitch. The two-bedroom house remained essentially as built until 2019, when we added a sunroom and two additional bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.
The most personal memories can be traced back to Caitlin’s great-grandparents, George and Viola Farmer, who ran the farm in the 1940s. The farm was their livelihood, producing everything they needed, including turnips, potatoes, beans, tomatoes, fruit trees, muscadines, and corn. Viola also made fresh biscuits and cornbread every morning—the stuff of dreams!
As a teenager, Caitlin’s father, Steve Tilley, worked one mule across the entire bottom portion of the land to plant new crops. In the 1980s, he and Caitlin’s mother, LaVerne, purchased and renovated the property to make it their family home for over 10 years. As a Floridian, Caitlin’s mom chose a bright, cheerful peach color for the home that Caitlin decided to recreate during the latest renovation, which inspired the Peach House Farm name.
A lesser-known (or perhaps lesser-shared) fact about the family business is that during the depression and prohibition, moonshine was made at the original old home place in the Mountain Grove community behind Currahee Mountain (that is now part of the Chattahoochee National Forest). According to family lore, the moonshine was then secretly shipped out via the railroad. We’re currently mulling over bringing back this tradition by adding on a modern day distillery. Stay tuned!
Peach House Farm is located on Currahee Street in the city of Toccoa, Georgia.
Toccoa rests in the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills. Here you’ll find a charming downtown with beloved local businesses, plus plenty of ways to enjoy the great outdoors—whether via a hike, an afternoon at the vineyard, or by exploring a historic site.
Learn more at Explore Georgia.
Toccoa is also home to Currahee Mountain, best known today for its role in World War II as the site for the U.S. Army’s first Parachute Infantry Training Center, Camp Toccoa. This chapter of the mountain’s history was popularized by the TV miniseries Band of Brothers. Learn more about Currahee Mountain.
Our family’s ties to this community date back many decades, and not just on the farm. Caitlin’s paternal grandfather was a paratrooper and met Dorothy Farmer, daughter of George and Viola Farmer, while training at Camp Toccoa to jump in the South Pacific during WWII.
Today, Caitlin’s father works for the Currahee Military Museum, which interprets this unique chapter of military history.
