Today we’d like to introduce you to Beckie Kiker.
Hi Beckie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Welcome to our home and Harvest Place Farm, our little slice of heaven tucked away in Wendell, NC. From the very beginning, we dreamed of creating a place where people could gather, breathe deeply, and let their hearts settle into the beauty around them—a farm filled with peace, purpose, and laughter.
And the question we hear the most? “Did y’all build this yourselves?” YES—every inch of it.
In 2016, we purchased a sleepy, abandoned 20-year-old farm and a sawmill and began the long process of restoring, rebuilding, and reimagining it into something special. The land had been resting for years—trees, buildings, fences, even an old covered wagon—completely smothered and covered in overgrowth. The Old Farmhouse, built in 1901, was covered in massive Wisteria vines, cobwebs, and a rusty metal questionable roof, but inside, it had treasured glimpes of its past life, the families that lived in the old house with stories to tell, BUT the old house had a solid backbone. We knew that with some time, it too would invite many MORE stories to be told behind its 100-year-old walls and wavy glass windows in the years to come.
Little by little, as time allowed, we cleared the land, revived the open spaces, and brought life back to a farm that had been waiting for a new story. We are still working at it!
One of the treasures we inherited was the old pecan trees that had stood watch over the property for decades. And everyone’s favorite tree on the property, “Aunt Maggie”. The largest Magnolia tree you have laid your eyes upon. Over time, we expanded the landscape with life and purpose—planting an organic garden, a Rose garden, an orchard of apples, pears, plums, and peaches, and rows of blueberry bushes and blackberries. Each season brings something new to grow, harvest, and share, adding even more beauty and abundance to the land.
Before any buildings went up, we fenced in the fields to welcome our horses and farm critters to the space. By late 2020, we began setting the main MASSIVE pillars of the barn, building our Log and Timber Frame Micro-Venue with wood milled from our own sawmill. Every beam, board, shingle, and fence was shaped by our hands. And with the help of our loyal crew at Little Squirrels Tree & Landscaping, we crafted the hardscapes, fire pit, and hot tub water feature that make the farm feel like a treasure hidden in the woods.
We are currently restoring the old historic 1901 farmhouse for both event space and Airbnb. Other Airbnbs we are creating on the farm are an adult treehouse, a tobacco barn, and next year, 10 log and timber micro air bnbs will be tucked in the woods. We also have a plan to build a full-size covered riding arena and pool/clubhouse.
Our dream was/is simple:
To build a place worth gathering.
A farm full of beauty and heritage.
A space where life slows down, and people reconnect—with each other, with creation, and with the moment they’re in. A place cultivated fully and freely in the God we serve.
Today, every corner of our 14-acre farm tells a piece of that story—a story of vision, purpose, family, and deep faith. We hope that when you’re here, you feel the love and intention poured into this place. May our home be an extension of yours, and may it help create memories that last for years to come.
Travis & Beckie Kiker-and family
Sow seeds of righteousness for yourselves, and you will reap a harvest of God’s unending love. Break up the hard, fallow ground of your heart. For it is time to seek YAHWEH’s favor until he comes to pour out righteousness on you like falling rain. Hosea 10:12
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Of course it has not been a smooth path at all. It took several months just to put a road where we could even drive on the farm and get power and water to the property.
And because we had sold our home, what would we live in? We lived in a RV 6 1/2 years in this entire building project which, if you’ve ever stayed in the RV for a length of time, you know the limitations it can give. However, it gave respite to our family after a hard day’s Work. It also showed us the things that really matter In life. Living a minimalistic life while we built started as a challenge but now looking back was invaluable.
When we sold our previous home all of our farm animals that were in different places in North Carolina. So we built a 1 acre paddock to welcome them all home in which was quite a reunion.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We have owned our family business (Little Squirrels Tree & Landscaping ) A reputable tree & landscape design company for over 30 years. The quality of work that we have done all over the Triangle and beyond is a lot of of what we’re known for, however, we have Always been entrepreneurial and love the restoration process. So we have. flipped houses, restored the third oldest house in Wake County, which resides in the downtown Wendell area.
We’ve always loved to gather people and have always been A family full of creativity and make something out of nothing. We are people of strong faith and the ministry opportunities that we’ve been given along the way Is always at the forefront of our mind and heart.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
There have been lessons that we have learned along the way! One, always look for opportunities that are outside of the box. And when you find them, make them better than you found them.
We’ve also learned that Faith and family is everything, and with the ups and the downs, its a gift -loving each other well and believing in each other. We draw on each other’s strengths and encourage one another when we were really tired and things seemed to take forever.
We’ve always been hard-working, and it’s important to not just “think about” and “dream about” what you want to do but also write it down into a plan and THEN put your hands to the work itself.
We’ve learned that strategy mixed with creativity stands out and brings the WOW factor.
We’ve also learned that everything always takes longer than you think it will lol!!!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.harvestplacefarm.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harvestplacefarm
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestplacefarm
- Other: https://www.littlesquirrels.com
