Speed the Plough

Speed the Plough is a farm in Amherst County, Virginia near the village of Elon, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The farm represents a succession of farm buildings from about 1799 to 1940. Its main house, a two-story brick structure, was built for William Dearing (1820–1862). Dearing held about fourteen slaves on the farm prior to the American Civil War. The property was sold out of the Dearing family about 1915 and the land was converted to an orchard by the Montrose Fruit Company, abandoning the house and most buildings. The land and house were later acquired by Rowland Lea (1872–1960). His partner, George Stevens (1868–1941), built a stone summer residence, the Rock Cottage, on the property. Several other buildings have been renovated for residential use and comprise a small village in what are now pasture lands.