A BIT OF "HISTORY"

Before the years of success in Major League baseball which included playing for -- and eventually managing -- the Cincinnati Reds, and having been awarded "MVP" of the 1986 World Series with the World Champion New York Mets...

Before marrying the lovely and talented Nancy Lopez, who as a professional golfer was four-time LPGA Player of the Year and has been inducted in the World Golf Hall of Fame...

Before becoming a father, to some of the best kids any dad might want...

And before Ashbrook wove its spell...

A young Charles Ray Knight spent many happy hours hunting in the fields and woods of south Georgia with his father. Ray's dad taught him to how to hunt the lively amd abundant bobwhite quail but made sure that Ray also learned to respect the land and the natural resources that shared their very existence with that land.

Even as Ray grew up and went on to be a famous baseball player, he never lost touch with his southern roots and his family ties. While bird hunting as an adult in the Sylvester, GA area he happened to ride through the entrance to an old-fashioned working farm and was captivated by its spirit, natural beauty and charm. Something inside Ray pulled at his heart and he decided he would look for a property nearby where he could spend his "down" time enjoying the out-of-doors with his family, dogs, horses and friends.

As it happened, not long thereafter a real estate agent called him to let him know about a great property that had recently become available. Ray noticed that the land was near the farm he had visited before, but as he stepped onto the "sale" property he had that same feeling he'd had previously with the nearby farm encounter. Ray knew right away that this new property was the place he wanted to be... he once again felt drawn to the land as though he'd taken a step backward in time to an era when life was simpler, slower, quieter and truly in harmony with nature.

It was while Ray toured the property he was planning to buy -- awed by the majestic trees, winding creeks, and softly rolling fields -- that he experienced a sense of familiarity with the surroundings. And as fate would have it, he soon discovered that THIS property was the SAME farm he had visited before... only this time he'd come onto the land by another entrance!

With the help and support of his dad, Nancy, family and friends, Ray began the journey of revitalizing -- and preserving -- what would become the "Ashbrook Plantation" you enjoy today. He has no doubt that his strong desire to respect and protect the lands of Ashbrook has its roots tracing back to the very essence of his full-blooded Cherokee great-grandfather, a man who grew up knowing that nature and people can -- and must -- exist in harmony.

The rest, as they say, is history...