White Oak Valley
Chilton County, Alabama⁞2700± ACRES
The Ultimate in Luxury Recreation only 40 minutes from Birmingham; Offering World Class Hunting & Fishing, Metropolitan Sophistication, & Unmatched Development Potential!
- 2700+/- Acre Premier High-Fenced Recreational Property
- The Largest High-Fenced Plantation in Alabama
- Formerly Approved Planned Conservation Development turned back into High Quality Recreational Property, Great value!
- Exceptional Higher and Better Use Potential
- Conservation Easement Preliminary work completed - benefits available to the new owner
- 55+/- Acre Blue Buck Lake; world class fishery, custom engineered & breathtaking views
- Arguably the best Trophy Bass Fishing Lake in Alabama!
- 6+/- acre and 3+/- acre pond stocked with bass and bream as well as a small trout pond for winter stocking
- 7500 +/- sf Custom Log Lodge, 5 BR, 5.5 BA, granite countertops, vaulted ceilings with wrap around porch views of the lake, detached garage, & boathouse
- 4500+/- sf Custom Log Lodge, 3 BR, 2.5 BA, granite countertops, hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, & wrap around porch views of the lake & custom lakeside pavilion & pier
- 2400+/- sf Managers Lodge and attached covered storage
- 4 stall horse barn with two attached fenced pastures approximately 3 acres and 5 acres; approximately 100 miles of horse & atv trails
- Metal barn used for a deer breeding operation with 33 acres in custom designed pens to maximize soft releasing deer in to the main enclosure
- Exceptional Texas genetic lines bred for typical frames and survivability have been released onto the property for several years
- World Class turkey hunting and excellent habitat for brood rearing
- Extensive improved road system with multiple permanent steel bridges over creeks
- 4.5 miles of clear flowing creeks with 3 named creeks flowing through the property including Watson, Third, & Cobb Creek
55+/- Acre Blue Buck Lake is in a class of its own producing 120 fish weighing 10-16 lbs!
The Largest High-Fenced Sporting Plantation in Alabama!
Thoughts on the sale: Arguably, the largest high-fenced property in Alabama. The property was on and off the market for 12 years with multiple brokers! We closed it within 4.5 months of completing our marketing program.
White Oak Valley Plantation is the ultimate in luxury recreation and higher and better use potential and offers the very best in class for hunting, fishing, amenities, and location. It’s convenient location just 40 minutes South of Birmingham spurred a vision and preliminary approval for a conservation development with 29 home sites centered around its 55+/- acre Blue Buck Lake, where members would own a 5-acre home site on the lake and have an undivided interest in the surrounding 2700+/- acres of recreational land. This potential remains today.
When you enter the gates at White Oak Valley you immediately notice the enormous vision the developers had for this property. From every curve of the 55-acre lake, to the location of each lodge to maximize the vistas, every detail was deliberate. The main lodge is a beautiful, custom-built three-story log lodge built by Jim Barna in 2007. Situated on the bluff overlooking Blue Buck Lake, it has 7,500+ square feet of living space, not including an attached garage and multi-story decks for panoramic viewing. The lodge has five bedrooms, two living spaces, one on the middle floor and one on the bottom floor, a gourmet kitchen, dining room, laundry room, and a custom bar on the lowest level. An elevator conveniently transfers guests among the three floors. The lodge is also home to a boat house, a trout pond and a fishing deck.
The second lodge, better known as the “Jim Barna Lodge,” was built atop another hill overlooking Blue Buck Lake in 2007. The lodge, totaling 4,500+ square feet, is three levels with a kitchen, dining area, living room with a fireplace and has two bedrooms and two and a half baths on the top two floors. It has a full suite on the bottom floor, complete with a second kitchen, living room with a fireplace, and dining area. This lodge has a sweeping wrap-around porch for enjoying views of the lake and wildlife. Additional amenities convenient to the location include the Barbecue Pavilion with a fire pit and boat dock.
Near the custom gated entrance to the property is a Texas-style barn that can be used for additional guests or a manager’s lodge. The 2,400-square foot lodge/barn built in 2006 has an office, kitchen, bath, and living quarters. It also has a skinning area and hay storage above. It overlooks the horse pastures beside the Barn & Lake. There is also a horse stable located by the barn that has four stalls and two fenced pastures. There are over 100 miles of horse-riding trails meandering through the property for your enjoyment.
White Oak Valley is a large watershed in itself, with several all-dispersed flowing streams. Watson Creek, Third Creek, Cobb Creek, and several smaller streams cover over 4.5 miles within the boundary lines of the plantation. They have been found to contain a very good diversity of aquatic life, as well as adding to the aesthetics and functionality of the habitat.
Blue Buck Lake is the 55+/- acre focal water feature of the property, custom engineered and currently at full pool. The lake bottom was carefully created for fish structure; each having been GPS’d for reference by fisherman or management. This lake has produced more than 120 Largemouth Bass weighing 10 pounds to 16 pounds in the last few years. Additional water features include a 6 +/- acre lake on the eastern side of the property that is yielding 10-pound bass as well as holds a lot of wood ducks in the winter, a small trout pond stocked each fall is located near the boat house on Blue Buck Lake, as well as a 3+/- acre pond near the entrance to the property.
The whitetail deer population at White Oak Valley is exceptional. Approximately 2,620+/- acres of the plantation is high-fenced; It is the biggest enclosure in Alabama. There is no doubt these animals are wild and hunt like a fair chase hunt. There is a very strong native deer population on the plantation. New genetic lines from some of the best Texas deer breeding sires have been introduced into White Oak Valley Plantation and are producing bucks up to 270 B&C. For the last several years, the current owners have released numerous genetically enhanced deer from their trophy herd program into the main population. There is no better way to instantly enhance the quality of the entire deer herd than what is being done at White Oak Valley.
The high-fence management program, excellent habitat, and regular trapping practices have benefitted all wildlife, mostly notably the turkey population. The turkey hunting is excellent and makes for unforgettable mornings when coupled with a great day on the lake after the hunt.
White Oak Valley Plantation, a prime location, abundant water, higher and better use potential, unmatched wildlife, luxurious amenities; simply walk in and enjoy. For an exclusive look at the largest high-fenced sporting plantation in Alabama, please contact us today.
A Social Storm™ Property
White Oak Valley Plantation is considered a Social Storm™ Property, a term we trademarked to identify unique properties that investors gravitate to for safety in bad times and buy for a recreation reward in good times. What makes a Social Storm™ Property so unique?
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Bruce Ratliff is a retired elected official (Property Appraiser Taylor County). Bruce brings years of experience in ad valorem tax knowledge. His property tax background gives JKA Associates & clients a unique insight into the complicated tax process. Bruce held several positions in the Florida Association of Property Appraisers, including member of the Board of Directors, President, Vice-President and Secretary, and served on the Agricultural & Legislative Committees for the Association. The real estate business has been part of Bruce’s life since childhood. His mother, Shirley Ratliff owned Professional Realty of Perry, Florida and his father, Buster owned Ratliff Land Surveying which Bruce was General Manager of before his political career.
From murky farm ponds to pristine glacier-cut lakes and everything in between, Knox Daniels’ expertise stems from a lifelong fascination of water and the creatures that live in and around it. He recognizes and helps clients appreciate the value water features bring to a property. “My goal is to help buyers realize and sellers maximize the value different water bodies bring to a property, not only in a recreational sense, but also for social storm reasons.” After extensively traveling the country for collegiate BASS fishing tournaments, Knox graduated and worked for the Southeast’s finest fisheries and wildlife biologist, Greg Grimes. With Grimes’ company, AES, Knox managed many of the southeast’s finest private lake estate/impoundment properties, and learned the intricacies of upscale property management. Learning from Greg and other biologists, Knox honed in on the specific conditions and habitat needed for optimal gamefish growth in private lakes. He has also worked as a property manager on several thousand acres and for a commercial developer, facilitating the dirt work and builds of several apartment complexes, but his true passion has always been in the outdoors. “I’ve always had an insatiable fascination with ponds/lakes and am grateful to be able to help to place clients on the properties of their dreams and make their personal fisheries/wildlife goals reality with JKA.” – Knox Daniels
As a landowner of his own family farm, Lick Skillet, along with family land that has been passed down and enjoyed together at Keaton Beach for 40 years, Jon knows what it means to be a steward of the last best places. As a third-generation land broker with more than 30 years of experience in advising landowners in this niche, Jon is known for his innate ability to harvest a land’s unique intrinsic value. Touting several notable sales under his belt, Jon personally closed Rock Creek/Molpus – 124,000 acres of premium timberland at $142,000,000 – which was known as the largest timberland land sale in the Southeast for eight years running. He is a co-founding member of LandLeader and achieved the real estate industry’s highest honor, “2022 National Broker of the Year – Recreational Land Sales,” by the Realtors® Land Institute.
Prior to joining Jon Kohler & Associates, Walter Hatchett served for 30 years as a land manager to several of the south’s most esteemed properties, including Rock Creek. As a former property manager himself, and a consistently ranked “Top Sales Producer” nationwide and achieved “APEX Top 20 Land Broker” multiple times, Walter has a keen eye for the best in habitat management.
With Madison County roots, Lori grew up on her family farm at Pettis Springs along the historic Aucilla River. A love of the land was instilled in Lori very early on by her father who was a local farmer. Lori understands the importance of good land stewardship and has witnessed first-hand how her own father, a former 2-term member of the Florida House of Representatives whose district encompassed many rural counties of the Red Hills Plantation Region, with a little bit of sweat equity, so lovingly worked their own family land. These are core values she carries with her today, and nothing gives her more personal satisfaction than to represent some of the south’s best land stewards.
Hailing from a long line of outdoorsmen, Tim learned a great deal from his father and grandfather. He saw first-hand what it means to be a good land steward. He believes land is so much more than a place to hunt, fish, and grow timber or crops. “It’s an identity, a resting place, a safe haven and a way of life, said Tim.” Tim’s family ties to Alabama run deep. During his grandfather’s first term, Governor James was responsible for signing into law Alabama’s first state duck stamp which helped to ensure funding for the procurement, development, and preservation of wetlands for migratory waterfowl habitat. He also established Alabama’s lifetime hunting license, so it is no surprise that Tim is an avid outdoorsman with a keen eye as to how best to improve habitat for the greater good of its wildlife.
Jason has been assisting landowners for the last 28 years in Georgia and South Carolina obtain achievements the owners did not realize were possible. His degree in Biology from Georgia Southern stemmed from the desire to know how things in nature work. His plantation roots began at just 16 years old outside of Albany, GA and the last 20 years were spent in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. His entire career has been spent developing a global approach to plantation management. That plan included sales. Sales is in Jason’s blood- his mom had a 45-year career as a real estate broker. After college, he chose to pursue his passion of making properties great. In 2011, Jason sold his first plantation. Since then, he has assisted buyers and sellers with over $20 million in sales while most of that time working as a full-time General Manager of a large Lowcountry plantation. Today, he is committed to using his unique skill set and experience to guide landowners through the many challenges of plantation ownership.