Whispering Pines Farm
Hamilton, Florida⁞60± ACRES
Some land is bought. This land was earned. For four generations, the Bembry family has known this 60± acre tract in the heart of Hamilton County, Florida — grazed it, worked it,and now planted it in young pine
- 60± acre recreational timber tract — Hamilton County, Florida
- Planted in 2.5-year-old slash pine — a strong foundation for long-term timber growth
- Fully perimeter-fenced; excellent multi-generational family homestead
- Surrounded by neighboring agricultural, cattle, and timber farms
- Abundant wildlife — easily transitions into a recreational hunting tract
- Previously used to graze cattle
- 0.35 miles to paved road
- 1.32 miles to the Alapaha River
- 2.8 miles to I-75
- 5 miles to Jasper
- 28 miles to Valdosta, GA
- 75 miles to Gainesville, FL
- Offered at $400,000
- Preserving the Legacy Begins With Stewardship
The Last Tract of a Fourth Generational Bembry Legacy -- Held in Trust, Ready for the Next Land Steward
Leonard and his wife, Susan put these trees in the ground in their seventies, knowing they would never see them tall. It is the most hopeful thing a family can do with a piece of land: plant for a harvest that belongs to someone else, and trust that someone will come who is worthy of it.
Whispering Pines Farm is the last tract of a generational family legacy and is being offered today to the next land steward who will carry it forward.
THE LEGACY
The story runs deeper than this tract. The original Bembry family Hamilton County farm reached 400± acres,stretching from this ground all the way to the banks of the Alapaha River — land that came down to Henry Bembry from his own father, Hiram Bembry, before him. Five generations of Bembrys have known this family ground. It was the land Henry's son, Leonard, grew up on: working it with his hands through his teenage years and running the farm himself from 1965 to 1967. What it taught him about hard work and good stewardship, he carried for the rest of his life.
Four generations have known this 60 acre tract. Today it stands planted in young slash pine, only a couple of seasons into a life that will stretch for decades. Leonard and his wife, Susan — married on December 22, 1967 at Bright Pond Baptist Church, just two miles down the road — put these trees in the ground in their seventies, knowing they would never see them tall. It is the most hopeful thing a family can do with a piece of land: plant for a harvest that belongs to someone else, and trust that someone will come who is worthy of it.
Now Susan walks these rows with her grandson Beau, teaching him the same thing Leonard taught her and their kids — that you leave land better than you found it. Four generations have stewarded this ground; the fifth is learning it now, among the pines.
"He's the great-grandson of the original owner — and that's pretty incredible to say. I'm just hoping now that our next buyer here will be just as interested in stewardship as I have seen all of you be"
— Susan Bembry, standing in the pines with her grandson Beau
A TRADITION, PLANTED
The pines standing here were planted in faith. Susan and Leonard set them in the ground knowing the harvest was never theirs to see. They planted them anyway — for whoever comes next. That is stewardship in its plainest form: not what you take from a place, but what you leave growing in it.
It is a tradition passed hand to hand across the Bembry generations, and now to the youngest — Susan and her grandson Beau, walking the fence line together, learning that the measure of land is how you hand it on. Preserving the Legacy Begins With Stewardship. For this family, that has never been a tagline. It is how they have lived.
THE LAND TODAY
Set in Hamilton County's farm country, the 60± acre tract is fully perimeter-fenced and surrounded by neighboring cattle operations, productive cropland, and timber farms — the kind of rooted agricultural community that has all but disappeared elsewhere. Once used to graze cattle and now planted in slash pine, the land offers genuine flexibility: a multi-generational family homestead, a long-term timber investment, or a private recreational retreat. Abundant wildlife moves throughout, and the tract could easily transition into a recreational hunting property.
Privacy without isolation: the farm sits just 0.35 miles from a paved road and 2.8 miles from I-75, with the scenic Alapaha River barely a mile away. Jasper is five miles down Highway 41,Valdosta, Georgia, is a 28-mile drive, and Gainesville, Florida, lies 75 miles to the south. It is a property ready to grow — in value, and in memories — for generations to come.
BROKER'S COMMENTS
I represent a great deal of land, but this tract is personal. Leonard Bembry is my father, and Susan is my mother. This is the last 60± acres of our family's land still held in our trust —the ground my grandfather, Henry Bembry, made his own, set against the original 400±acres that came down from my great-grandfather Hiram Bembry, reaching to the Alapaha River. It is the land my father grew up on and farmed as a young man. That river runs just 1.32 miles from this ground - the same water I grew up fishing with my grandparents.
I grew up understanding what it means to keep a place for the next generation. My mother is teaching it again right now, walking these pines with her grandson the way it has always been taught in our family: leave the land better than you found it. We planted trees we will never see harvested, because we believe in whoever comes next.
Now, as the broker entrusted with passing this ground forward, I am looking for the family who will love it the way mine has. This is sacred ground, planted with faith in the future. If you are looking for land with roots — a place to put down your own — I would be honored to walk it with you.
— Lori Bembry Weldon, Broker
INQUIRE
To walk Whispering Pines Farm, or to learn more about this legacy tract, contact Lori Bembry Weldon with Jon Kohler & Associates
Lori@JonKohler.com · 229-977-6065.
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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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cole’s dedication to land management lies in his family roots. As a fourth-generation timber expert, Cole’s earliest memories were spent with his father managing timber investments. With a degree in Food Resource Economics from the University of Florida, Cole is the epitome of an up-and-coming leader. He grew up with a hands-on approach to learning land management and conservation and has spent the last 15 years learning every angle of the real estate and forest industry. Cole is a member of the Florida Forestry Association, Red Hills Quail Forever, Southeastern Wood Producers Association and he uses this platform as an advocate for landowners and their land investments. His family has dedicated the past 60 years to providing landowners in North Florida and South Georgia with professional land management services focused on improving and protecting one’s forestland and wildlife investment. In fact, their family business, M.A. Rigoni, Inc., was one of the first to introduce whole tree chipping to the Red Hills Region.
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.