Woodbine Farms

Woodbine Farms was a famous sheep farm on rolling hills at the north edge of Gambier, Ohio, on Kenyon Road (Ohio State Route 308). It was run by several generations of the Walker family.  In its heyday in the 1930’s and 1940’s, the farm was an obvious presence to the residents and students in Gambier because of the practice of herding sheep with the help of border collies through the center of the village on their way to their baths in the Kokosing River. 

The Walkers were nationally known for the prize-winning quality of the Corriedale and Southdown sheep they raised, bred, and sold. With clients as far away as Colombia in South America, delivery sometimes meant that the sheep were transported by airplane. 

In 1945, the photographer Joe Munroe was given his first assignment with a new magazine, The Farm Quarterly, to come to Gambier to photograph the Walker’s sheep farm. On that visit, he formed a close friendship with the Walker family, especially J. F. Walker, his son H. H., and H.H.’s wife Catherine. Joe Munroe returned several times and stayed with the Walkers, who eventually encouraged him to move to Knox County. They helped him find a parcel of land to build his dream house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright . . . a house that was never built.

Today, though the farm no longer exists, a major portion of the original farm land is part of the Brown Family Environmental Center of Kenyon College where a steep trail leads to Walker’s Pond. In the depression era of the 1930’s, this pond was built for the Walkers by a team of young people working for the Civilian Conservation Corps.