She Bought a Farm Looking for Peace. Now She Shares It With Others.

At Ancient Spring Farm, hosting started with a feeling—and grew into a way to fund the work that matters most.

When Rebecca Schwendler was looking for a farm to buy, she had a list of practical requirements, of course. But she also knew she wanted the farm to evoke something less tangible: calm, peace, beauty, and a sense of closeness to nature.

Rebecca found that feeling at Ancient Spring Farm in Snow Camp, North Carolina.

“When I saw this property, I had that feeling because it feels quiet and protected, set back from the road,” she says. “It has huge old trees from the ’50s, and some are older. In fact, a few might even be from when the farm was first founded, around the 1830s.”

Those trees shade the property during North Carolina summers and provide habitat for wildlife. Beyond them, open pastures are home to Rebecca’s farm animals, while the surrounding ecosystem teems with more life—salamanders in the creek. Mushrooms. An eastern painted turtle along a trail. Tree frogs singing beside the farmhouse. Once, a barred owl that unexpectedly hung around for a day or two.

The property gave Rebecca the peace she had been looking for. Now, with Hipcamp, she gets to share that feeling with others.

“I’ve had a lot of Hipcampers say that as soon as they got onto the property, they felt kind of peaceful,” she says. “It just felt like a really great vibe.”

Rebecca’s story is a familiar one for landowners who wanted a sanctuary first—and later found a way to share it without changing what made it feel that way in the first place.

Taking a leap

Rebecca did not grow up on a farm. She came from a family of gardeners who traded plants and passed favorite varieties down through generations.

Professionally, however, she followed a different path, training as an archaeologist and historian. While Rebecca enjoyed some aspects of her job—the intellectual stimulation, the time spent outdoors—she also found it stressful.

During the pandemic, Rebecca found herself stepping outside to enjoy the butterflies and bees around her flowers. Soon, she added chickens and a beehive—and began reconsidering what she wanted from her life.

“I just knew that what I really loved was being outside and growing plants, nurturing animals,” she says. “I wanted to really explore the things that brought me joy, and not just things that brought me intellectual curiosity and satisfaction.”

Rebecca purchased Ancient Spring Farm in 2021 and began the ongoing work of learning how to care for it sustainably as the property’s lead farmer. She restored pastures, removed invasive plants, made compost from her animals’ bedding, and planted native and heirloom varieties that support local pollinators.

“I’m a firm believer in creating a healthier environment than what we found,” she says.

She avoids pesticides and herbicides and farms largely by hand—without a tractor. The result is a farm that feels alive, from the frogs around the farmhouse to the livestock grazing in the pastures.

From a love of hospitality to hosting campers

That philosophy extends beyond the landscape. Rebecca approaches hosting Hipcampers much as she approaches farming: thoughtfully, intentionally, and with an appreciation for the way small details can shape an experience.

Rebecca had long imagined turning her future farm into a B&B. Then a friend told her about Hipcamp. Hosting campers offered the hospitality and connection she wanted without requiring a traditional lodging business.

Getting started was straightforward, she says. From there, she gradually refined her listing to help campers understand the rhythms and realities of staying on a working farm.

Today, Ancient Spring Farm offers two campsites for tents and RVs, plus a historic tobacco packhouse glamping accommodation made possible by the extra money she’s earned from hosting campers. Hosting, in other words, has become the way Rebecca funds the parts of the farm she cares most about—from adding solar lights and refreshing guest areas to continuing renovations on the packhouse, which she hopes to use for workshops and small events too.

Rebecca began with the land and amenities she already had, then shaped her offering over time—learning from campers and finding new ways to connect with others.

Sharing more than a campsite

Rebecca’s background as an archaeologist and historian actually shapes how she welcomes campers.

She has researched the people who lived on the land before and after the Civil War. She uncovered the names of three enslaved residents—Bet, Artilda, and Adam—who were connected to the property before emancipation. One night, after tracing part of that history, Rebecca walked outside and looked up at Orion.

“I thought, wow—I just can’t even imagine all the things that happened here and all the things people experienced,” she says. “Everybody in the farm’s history could have seen Orion from the same place that I see it.”

“Everybody in the farm’s history could have seen Orion from the same place that I see it.”

Rebecca shares parts of this history during optional farm tours, alongside information about the land’s ecology and her restoration work. Guests can also book workshops on foraging, native-plant landscaping, mead-making, and crafting using materials grown on the farm.

She sells eggs and seasonal produce, and offers a breakfast that can be adapted for dietary restrictions. When families visit, she gives children an opportunity to meet the animals, whether or not they have booked a formal tour.

Still, not every guest wants the same kind of experience. Rebecca pays attention to what each camper is seeking—some arrive eager to learn about the farm, while others simply want a quiet place to rest. She believes understanding this, along with a clear listing, is key to hosting success.

“Be very clear in your listings about opportunities for Hipcampers,” she says. “Not so much the things they can’t do, but things they can.”

For Rebecca, the most rewarding guests are those who appreciate the farm as it really is: peaceful and beautiful, but also active, changing, and occasionally unpredictable.

Offering others the peace she found

As on any farm, the work never stops. Planting. Harvesting. Caring for animals. But hosting has given her a way to invite other people into the place she has worked so hard to nurture.

“I feel so incredibly blessed to own a farm that I feel compelled to give back by sharing it with other people,” she says. “I love providing space for others because I know how important that was—and is—for me.”

“I feel so incredibly blessed to own a farm that I feel compelled to give back by sharing it with other people.”

At Ancient Spring Farm, the sanctuary Rebecca once searched for has become something she can share: with campers, with wildlife, and with anyone looking to slow down and experience the living story of the land. Becoming a host has opened up a world of possibilities for doing just that.

Want to learn more about hosting campers on your land?

Start where Rebecca did: with what you already have, on your own terms. Use the income to fund the parts of your property you love most.

Free to list—and you decide how often you host.