Woodland Farm

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Historical Marker #2156 in Goshen tells the history of Woodland Farm, originally known as Clifton, and the home that was built by Thomas T. Barbour, early settler of Oldham County, in 1813. It was part of a string of large land tracts settled by English families who had acquired land form Revolutionary War service.

Originally, the farm consisted of 700 acres and included bottomland leading to the Ohio River, which gave it easy access for transportation of agriculture and livestock. Barbour divided his estate into several tracts of land for his children. In 1855, Richard Jacob purchased the property and raised livestock, wheat, corn, hay, wool, and Irish potatoes. Jacob was active in state government, joined the Union Army in 1862, and was elected lieutenant governor of Kentucky in 1863. In January 1864, Confederate guerillas raided Clifton while the family was in Frankfort, burning all outbuildings and barns. Only the main house and spring house survived. Most buildings were rebuilt on their original foundation by 1867. Jacob sold Clifton to Frank Gottbrath in 1899.

The Gottbrath family owned and managed Clifton from 1899-1956. During this time, Clifton became known for its herd of the finest purebred Hereford Cattle, Poland-china hogs, and Southdown sheep produced on the Gottbrath Stock Farm. In 1956, George and Helen Egger began purchasing bottomland from the Gottbrath family and tried to restore the farm to its original acreage. The Eggers leased the down river portion of 18 Mile Island to the Ohio River-Oldham Water District I 1964.

In 1996, the property was purchased by Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson to prevent it from becoming a subdivision. A year later, Woodland Farm was added to the National Register of Historical Places and, in 2003, the farm was placed under protection from development with the Department of Agriculture Purchase of Agriculture Conservation Easement program.