Valley View / Tackley Farm

Valley View, also, Tackley Farm. West Virginia 9. , Tackley Farm, originally known as Valley View, was established in 1777 when Michael Blue leased a portion of the property from original grantee, Colonel Richard Blackburn, who migrated from England and acquired over 2,000 acres in 1754. Both Michael Blue and his brother Uriah had served with Richard Blackburn as foot soldiers in Delaware in 1757 and through him learned of the farming opportunities in Jefferson (then Berkeley) County. So successful were the brothers that Michael Blue purchased the 150 acres of Tackley Farm in 1795. The farm later changed ownership in 1849 when the Blue family sold the property to Bayliss Trussell or Michael Blue's son, Joel, built the present Greek Revival/Italianate-style farm house in the 1840s., During the 1920s, the property was owned by agriculturalist J. William Blackford, who also operated a threshing business. During harvest season, Blackford hauled his threshing machine, hay baler, and seed huller on his steam traction engine from farm to farm, assisting local farmers with their reaping and processing of wheat, hay, and clover. An early 20th-century photo shows J. William Blackford (in front with the hat) along with his sons, Benton and Corbin (in overalls), transporting folks on his steam engine to a local church picnic., In 1935, O.M. Merchant purchased the property and converted the farm for dairy use, helping to establish the still important milking industry in the country. Merchant equipped his barn with stanchions and concrete troughs and added a cooling house to meet the milk inspectors' requirements for producing Grade A milk., The farm is listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its reflection of the agricultural development and settlement of Jefferson County. Also, the farmhouse is significant for its mid-19th-century blend of Greek Revival and Italianate architecture.