David takes you to White Sulphur Farms just outside Gainesville to meet the Reynolds/Hemmer family and see how they raise Belted Galloway cattle and heritage Tamworth pigs on land first settled in 1802. You hear how the farm’s spring gave the community its name and why the family is committed to keeping the core acreage in agriculture for generations to come. Expect history, livestock know-how, and a true farm-to-table ethos rooted on the banks of the Oconee River.

 

White Sulphur Farm sits on family land along the Oconee River that the Reynolds ancestors claimed in 1802. Today, the Reynolds-Hemmer family still calls it home. We meet Lee Hemmer, his sister Mary, and their parents, who describe houses built with timber milled on site and stone gathered from rock piles across the fields. The market now occupies what may be one of the oldest houses in Hall County, a pre-railroad structure identified by its hand-cut nails.

We walk to the namesake spring and learn how sulfur water drew visitors long before modern filtration removed the smell. The property reveals traces of earlier lives, from a hand-dug well with footholds to a double cellar where neighbors once sheltered. The family’s herd features docile Belted Galloways, a choice sparked years ago by a whimsical request for “Oreo cows,” alongside Aberdeen Angus and a Wagyu bull for crossbreeding.

Tamworth hogs roam and forage, prized for flavor even if they take longer to reach market weight. Processing stays local, and the mission stays clear. As development creeps closer, the family says the core farm will never be turned into subdivisions. Their commitment is part of what keeps locally raised meat available to their neighbors and preserves a rare piece of early nineteenth-century Georgia history.

A Fork in the Road airs Saturdays at noon and Sundays at 6:30 a.m. on GPB-TV. Check your local listings for other replays throughout the week and watch all episodes anytime at GPB.org/ForkintheRoad.  Please download and subscribe to the Fork in the Road podcast at GPB.org/ForkintheRoadpodcast or on your favorite podcast platform.

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