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Victoria Green Plains Farm

The Wildman family moved to the country to find peace, to enjoy the scenery, and to be near their roots. And they did. The Wildmans also found something they did not expect or anticipate, for with their move they discovered country neighbors — a network of new friends willing to help others.
Austin Wildman makes a living as a lawyer in a major law firm. Some years ago, he lived in a plush suburb at the edge of Columbus. For many, this is the good life. However, Wildman craved something else. He had a desire to go back to a place he visited often as a youth.
As a youngster, Wildman remembers his family traveling to a special countryside hill on many a Sunday afternoon. He never forgot the bird’s eye view from that particular hill in Clark County. He recalls the spectacular sight as a coal burning steam engine appeared on the horizon at dusk.  This hill that he so vividly remembers has served as a part of Austin Wildman’s ancestry, his youth, and is still a part of his life today.
More than 200 years ago, a log house near that hill was occupied by ancestors of Wildman. The home as the first residence built on a 1600-acre land grant was given to a Wildman who had served as a chaplain in the Revolutionary Army. Wildman and his wife, Sarah, and their sons, Eben and Max, now own that same log house.

 “Our family has deep roots in this community, said Wildman. My grandfather was born in a nearby big brick house that was the third and final residence built on the 1600-acre tract. My great-grandfather was also born near here.” Much of the 1600 acres are still owned by Wildmans.
The wildlife on this farm fascinates Austin. He has watched ten to fifteen deer come into the woods most every night during the fall. His Columbus friends ask, “Why did you give up a beautiful house in the suburbs to live way out in the country?” After these friends visit the Wildman farm, they often ask another question: “Why do we live in the suburbs – it’s so beautiful and peaceful out here in the country.”
Austin said, “When we bought the farm, we originally planned to use it as a weekend retreat. At the time the woods were overgrown. It looked like a jungle. The farm had been out of production for about 40 years and multiflora rose had taken over. It took a bulldozer to get rid of it. And the log cabin had cattle and sheep walking through it. I wanted to bulldoze the house.”