Get to Know Shotwell Farm, an Equestrian Paradise
- Hunt Country Sotheby's International Realty
- May 7
- 6 min read
Shotwell Farm is designed for people who actually live and work in the equestrian world. If you're looking for the soul of West Virginia horse country, let me show you why this one is different.
What This Property Is
Shotwell Farm is a recognized Jefferson County landmark, a 172-acre equestrian estate on Earle Road in the Kabletown district of Charles Town, West Virginia. The offering includes two parcels: the main residence at 899 Earle Road, a 4,310-square-foot Southern Living-style farmhouse built in 2003 with four bedrooms, four baths, a detached three-bay garage, and a two-bedroom apartment above; and the farm parcel at 1237 Earle Road, a 62-acre tract with a four-bedroom colonial home built in 2001, used historically as the farm manager's residence. Together, the two parcels span approximately 172 acres of rolling pasture and managed ground in one of the most horse-oriented corners of the eastern panhandle.
The equestrian infrastructure is, in a word, extraordinary. The main barn is a 37,857-square-foot structure with a center-aisle stable layout, a generator, a reception area, two offices, a laundry facility, three staff apartments, 29 horse stalls, a wash stall, and an 80-by-300-foot indoor riding arena at its core.
A complete, operational, professionally appointed equestrian facility. It has everything you'd want and a fair amount you'd never think to ask for.
Adjacent to the main barn sits a 12,000-square-foot facility housing a dedicated breeding area and a 2,520-square-foot maintenance shop with 200-amp electrical service. An additional 39 stalls bring the total stall count across the property to 68. Two 6,000-square-foot structures at the rear provide hay and equipment storage, one with a 16-by-100-foot lean-to.
The pastures are enclosed by 18,000 linear feet of four-rail blackboard fencing and 7,500 feet of top-rail fencing with diamond wire, the kind of detail that tells you this farm was designed by people who actually use it.
This is a complete, operational, professionally appointed equestrian facility. It has everything you'd want and a fair amount you'd never think to ask for.
The Setting
Jefferson County is the easternmost county in West Virginia, in an area known as the Eastern Panhandle: Blue Ridge to the east, the Shenandoah to the west, the Potomac defining the northern boundary. The topography is gently rolling, the soil productive, and the pasture, in a decent spring, genuinely beautiful.
Earle Road sits in the Kabletown community, which is the kind of rural West Virginia designation that doesn't show up on most maps but matters a great deal to the people who live there. It is quiet without being remote and agricultural without being inaccessible.
Washington, D.C. is roughly 65 miles to the east. Dulles Airport is about an hour's drive. The MARC commuter rail runs through Harpers Ferry, about ten miles away. People who choose to live here are choosing a particular way of life, and this farm is designed around that choice.
The Town
Charles Town itself carries considerable history. It was laid out in 1786 by Charles Washington, brother of George, who named the streets for members of his family, a convention the town has kept. The Jefferson County courthouse, where John Brown was tried and convicted in 1859, still stands on Washington Street. The Charles Town Races, one of the oldest horse racing facilities in the country, is minutes away. This is real horse country, and the infrastructure, the culture, and the land all point the same direction.
The Main House at Shotwell Farm
The residence at 899 Earle Road was designed in the Southern Living tradition, a style that manages to feel both polished and livable, harder to achieve than it sounds. The front porch overlooks the grounds and the mountains beyond. Inside, the foyer has marble floors and a grand staircase that sets the register for the rest of the house without tipping over into ostentation.
The first floor includes a formal dining room, butler's pantry, formal living room, a gourmet kitchen with an island and floor-to-ceiling windows, a family room, a substantial laundry room, and a home office.
There are four fireplaces with marble surrounds throughout. Hardwood floors run through the main living areas. French doors connect interior spaces to the porches and patio outside. Upstairs, a library anchors the second floor. Three guest bedrooms with walk-in closets and custom window treatments, along with the primary suite with a soaking tub, round out the upper level.
Beyond the main house, a parking portico with an arched cobblestone driveway connects via breezeway to the three-bay garage. The upper level of that garage is a fully appointed two-bedroom apartment with a kitchen, full bath, and private laundry — useful for extended family, guests, or farm staff.
The infrastructure is serious: heat pump and propane heating, central air, water treatment system, five total covered parking spaces. This is a house that has been thought through for comfort and convenience and luxury.
The Barn Complex
This is what the property is really about. The main barn at Shotwell Farm is a purpose-built professional equestrian facility, the kind you'd find at a high-end training or breeding operation, which is exactly what it was designed for. The center-aisle layout keeps the 29 primary stalls organized around the core, with a wash stall and direct access to the indoor arena. That arena — 80 by 300 feet — is a serious facility.
This is a professional training environment, usable year-round. The reception area, two offices, and ground-floor staff apartment mean the barn can operate as a business. The two additional second-floor staff apartments allow live-in management at a staffing level appropriate to a 68-stall operation.
This property was built by people with serious intentions, and the infrastructure reflects that.
The adjacent 12,000-square-foot building with its dedicated breeding area reflects a specific history of purpose. The pasture fencing — 18,000 linear feet of four-rail blackboard, 7,500 feet of top-rail with diamond wire, 29 automatic waterers throughout — is the fencing of an operation that has not cut corners anywhere. Run-in sheds are positioned across the acreage. The layout works.
The Manager's Home
The 62 acre parcel at 1237 Earle Road includes a four-bedroom, 2.5-bath colonial home of approximately 1,200 square feet, built in 2001. This has functioned historically as the farm manager's residence, which makes operational sense: on a property of this scale, having management housed on-site is a practical necessity. The acreage associated with this parcel is part of the broader pasture system of the farm. Together with the 899 Earle Road parcel, the assembled 172 acres gives a buyer the kind of scale that matters for serious equestrian operations. Room for rotation, room for expansion, room to breathe.
Charles Town and Jefferson County
People who haven't spent time in the Eastern Panhandle often underestimate it. Jefferson County is closer to Washington in both miles and sensibility than most people realize. It has a working equestrian culture in the nearby Charles Town Races, Virginia hunt country begins just across the state line, and the community of horse people in this part of the world is genuinely deep. Here, you're buying into an existing landscape or equestrian activity.
The Shenandoah Valley, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, the Appalachian Trail, the C&O Canal are the backdrop to this extraordinary property. You ride out in the morning, the Blue Ridge is in front of you, and the river is ten minutes away if you want it.
Schools
Families have many alternatives for schooling in this area. The Hill School of Middleburg, just across the Virginia line, is a respected independent day school serving grades K through 8 in a setting that suits the equestrian community particularly well.
The property is served by Jefferson County Schools (WV), while the Clarke County (VA) public school district is a neighbor to the south. Additionally, several strong private and parochial options in the Winchester-Frederick County corridor are all within a practical commute.
Properties at this scale, with infrastructure of this quality and land of this character, do not come to market often. When they do, the buyers who are right for them tend to know it quickly. Shotwell Farm is a working farm, a professional equestrian facility, and a gracious residence, under one name, in one of the most naturally suited places for this kind of operation in the mid-Atlantic.
899 Earle Road & 1237 Earle Road, Charles Town, WV
Offered at $5,699,000
View Full Listing
If you are building, growing, or relocating an equestrian program, or if you are simply looking for a property that has been designed and maintained at a level that allows you to use it on day one, Shotwell Farm warrants your attention.
I'd be glad to arrange a private showing.
All offerings subject to errors, omissions, or withdrawal without notice. Buyers should consult a qualified tax professional regarding historic tax credit eligibility. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each office independently owned and operated.
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