Old Fields Plantation
Jefferson & Leon County, Florida⁞1280± ACRES
A Famed Red Hills Wild Quail Plantation, Offered Turn-key
- 1,280± acre High-Fenced Red Hills Wild Quail Plantation in Jefferson & Leon Counties, FL
- Located Just 12 miles from Tallahassee, FL
- 9.3± miles of high fence encompassing 1,200 acres of Preserve
- 10± acres in intensively managed trophy bass fishing lakes (4.7 acres and 5.6 acres)
- 12± acres in plantable duck ponds. (9.4 acre Ringneck pond and 2.4 acre wood duck pond)
- 3 wild quail courses
- Deer breeder pens with approximately 21± deer
- Estimated 100± improved genetic whitetail deer 50/50 Buck Doe Ratio (Mark Owens breeding)
- 6,858 sq ft classic revival home built by renowned Skip Sheffield with 4 BR/5.5 BA
- Heart Pine flooring
- Office, gym, movie theatre room
- Three fireplaces
- Detached three-car garage
- Salt water pool
- Matching 975 sq ft 1 BR/1BA guest house
- Nine-stall horse stable with tack room, lounge, 1 BR 1BA
- 20 acres in pasture
- 11 gaited walking horses
- 28-Run dog kennel with washing station, welping boxes
- Seasoned bird dogs included
- Manager's house
- 3BR, 2BA lakefront camp house
- Steel equipment barn with office
- Electric gated entrance; two generators for main house and stables
- Beautiful moss-draped live oaks, rolling red hills, and creek bottoms
- Site of “Old Fields Canyon” of Miccosukee Lake Drain; one of the most beautiful natural features in North Florida
- Located in the prestigious Tallahassee/Thomasville plantation belt
- Lake Miccosukee on north line with some of the highest concentrations of waterfowl in North Florida
- Site of a “Prehistoric City” and bordering state park with tallest Indian Mound in the state of Florida
- Proudly one of named Red Hills plantations under a protective conservation easement - a total of 6 additional homes may be built
- Turnkey including equipment, dogs, horses and more
Arguably One of the Most Diverse Turn-key Recreational Plantations in the Southeast
Old Fields is a 1,280 ± acre high-fenced Red Hills wild quail plantation located just 15 minutes east of Tallahassee and just a few miles from the Lloyd and I-10 interchange. The property is one of the famed Red Hills wild quail Quail Plantations and an outdoorsman’s paradise. There are bountiful live oaks, rolling red hills, two large floodable duck ponds, pastures, several large bass ponds, and the famous Lake Drain. Approximately 1,000 acres are under a high fence and stocked with over 200 Whitetails with some of the best genetics in Florida. Best of all, it contains one of the ten most beautiful natural features in North Florida, Old Fields Canyon. It also borders Letchworth-Love State Park, featuring the tallest Indian Mound in the State of Florida. Old Fields contains one of the most significant archeological sites in Florida including the site of a “prehistoric city.” The plantation has all of the amenities that one would want for a year-round sporting property including a breathtaking Greek Revival home, guest lodges, lakes, creeks, stable, kennels, and excellent wing-shooting, ducks, turkey, and monster bucks. This is a unique opportunity to step into an extremely well-capitalized turn-key property in the Red Hills.
In 1824, the Territory’s first surveyors, came across abandoned Indian old fields and noted it in their journals. Hence the name “Old Fields.” Today, these “old fields” are a recreational paradise bounded by flowing streams and fertile red soil hills. Water from Lloyd Creek (flowing north) and the Lake Drain (flowing south) meet and both go underground into the Floridian Aquifer, just off the property. This is one of the most beautiful and indescribable areas in North Florida.
Old Fields is one of the most intensively managed plantations in the belt. The quality of the wing-shooting is incredible. Everything is first class. Duck, dove, and quail hunting are spectacular. There are two plantable duck ponds totaling approximately 12.2+/- acres. The "Big Pond" is one of the largest floodable duck ponds in North Florida and features four walkout blinds with additional permanent blinds. Lake Miccosukee borders the plantation to the north and attracts some of the highest concentrations of migrating waterfowl in North Florida.
“I see a lot of flooded duck ponds. These two stand out. The big pond can be shallow flooded for teal or wood ducks or deep flooded for Ringnecks.” - Jon Kohler
“I've shot this pond. This isn’t your average duck pond. Being on the south side of the 10,000 acre Lake Miccosukee, the #2 highest concentration of waterfowl in Florida, makes a difference!” - Jon Kohler
Whitetail deer and turkey have also been intensively managed. The groves of mature white oaks and pristine hardwood bottoms offer both natural feed and sanctuary. There are approximately 9.3 miles of high fence built by Long Fencing. There is an established trophy deer program in place with 100% Mark Owen’s genetics. The onsite breeding pen contains approximately 20 deer with approximately 100 deer (50/50 buck to doe ratio) released into the preserve.
“Erica and I high-fenced a good portion of our own place. Many of our clients are going that direction and we sell a lot of them. The vast difference between the quality of the bucks and the absence of frustration by seeing a neighbor ruin a good deer program makes it more than worth it.” - Jon Kohler
The Greek Revival plantation house stands on a hilltop surrounded by tall pines, native grasses and moss-draped live oaks. The main house is 6,858 square feet with four bedrooms and five and a half baths and was built by renowned builder, Skip Sheffield and designed by Ginger Whetherell Scott whose teamwork also brought us the Florida State President’s Mansion, among others. Seemingly timeless, it was built in 2009 and features all the modern amenities and details one could imagine. There is a saline pool, pool house/guest house, and detached garage, all to the same standards and style of the main house. What they built here is a historically accurate and architecturally correct exterior complete with a modern interior. The living space opens to the serene saltwater pool and gardens and features heart pine floors and Winchester firearms original display cases. There is a master on the first floor, a master with fireplace on the second floor, an office with fireplace, a gym, a movie theatre room, and a screened back porch perfect for relaxing and entertaining. The separate 975 square foot furnished guest house/pool house is one bedroom, one bath, with laundry, kitchen, pool table, and dining area. There is also a detached three-car garage.
“I was there when they planned this house and put the “A” team together to do it. Their goal was to build an exterior that was architecturally correct and timeless.” - Jon Kohler
For additional guests, there is a three-bedroom, two-bath furnished lodge overlooking one of the trophy bass ponds. Closer to the plantation headquarters, there is a three bedroom, two bath manager’s house, and a large equipment barn with an office. The dog kennels, some of the nicest on any plantation in the Red Hills, have 28 runs, an indoor washing station, whelping boxes, and a veterinary station. Well-trained bird dogs and horses are a testament to a property's quality. Hunting dogs and approximately 11 gaited walking horses are included. The stables tout a combination of open air and traditional design, complete with nine stalls, a tack room, a restroom, and a lounge. There is a steel equipment barn with office and a beautiful, gated entrance with a large electric gate and brick columns.
“I was there when they designed this kennel. The intent was to build a role model. They looked at every good kennel in the Red Hills for design ideas. The only thing they didn’t think about was the cost.” - Jon Kohler
The property isn’t only popular today but has been for over 150 centuries. Archeologically, this is one of the most significant sites in the State. In fact, the State holds a conservation easement to make sure it will never be developed. This is one of 185,000 acres of Red Hills plantations protected by a conservation easement. The plantation is the site of a “prehistoric city.” The Letchworth Mound Complex (located in the adjoining State Park) is famous for being one of the premier Weeden Island cultural sites. The Weeden Island culture dates between A.D. 200-900. This was one of the first cultures to develop mound building and incorporate artwork on ceramic vessels. What they built is the tallest mound in Florida. The site of the actual villages is located on the plantation. Not only is the soil and location ideal for game and crops but the Lake Drain offers an incredible natural flint quarry. This is one of the few sites in Florida where flint is naturally exposed. That resulted in wealth for the inhabitants did not have to trade or import chert for tools or arrowheads, because of this, for hundreds of years this area acted as North Florida’s capitol. Today, bountiful artifacts are commonly found throughout the plantation. Numerous papers and studies have been written about these sites.
“It’s one thing to be a land steward that watches over habitat, timber and game. Here you can add to it that you watch over the remnants of an ancient civilization.” - Jon Kohler
Old Fields is one of the premier entertainment properties in the Red Hills. It offers a wealth of recreational opportunities and a rare opportunity to purchase a plantation in the belt. Surviving a time when development interests over-powered recreational and family interests, it is comforting to own a property where the recreational memories will grow from generation to generation.
For 150 centuries and now this property has been at the forefront of Florida’s culture. Its location is ideal. It’s hard to imagine that we are just 17 miles from the steps of today’s capitol. From Florida’s tallest Indian mound, built 18 centuries ago, to one of modern Florida’s best examples of Greek revival architecture, what has been built here stands the test of time. From its world-class wing shooting to one of its newest high-fenced trophy deer preserves, the outdoor recreation doesn’t get any better than this. Old Fields is truly one of Florida’s signature properties.
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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.