How IT All Began....

We planted our first Christmas trees in 1984 when we were expecting our first child. With that act and the desire to diversify family income we were anticipating a way to pay for future college expenses for not just one, but two sons, Matthew and Tyler.  We have planted thousands of seedlings since that time. 

We now offer five different species for harvest andhave grown our operation to over 15,000 trees. Currently, we are in the process of expanding the operation to offer even more variety including a small container nursery. With now two foresters in the family, we manage all of our farm and forest land in an environmentally friendly sustainable manner. Claybrooke is home to a diverse array of wildlife, including deer, geese, bear,turkey, quail, rabbit, fox, bald eagle, and song birds.  Upon your visit to Claybrooke; you might have the opportunity to observe some of these species.

Our farm has a rich history dating back to 1725 when it was a Land Grant to the Overton family.  The property was named  “Brookeville” and was passed to the Claybrooke family through marriage. John Claybrooke was quite an entrepreneur and became well established in the community.  He supplied ties for the railroad at Frederick Hall during the Civil War. Most of the land was open at that time providing acreage for cattle, sheep, corn, hay, hogs, and tobacco. Members of the Overton and Claybrooke families are buried on the property. Those early families probably celebrated the holiday with a red cedar Christmas tree cut from the farm. The farm came to us through Virginia’s family in 1982.

When Virginia and her two sisters were small, Claybrooke was primarily a cattle and crop operation, boasting not just cattle and crops, but a few pigs, chickens, dogs, cats, as well as garden vegetables and flowers. Respecting the farm’s history and realizing that we are only temporary stewards of this beautiful land, we chose to keep the property named “Claybrooke” in honor of the ones who toiled here before us.