Clover Springs Farm

Front inscription

In 1942, local textile entrepreneur Cary C. Boshamer (1895-1973) opened Clover Springs Farm at this site. Previously cotton fields and forest, the 380-ac. farm was used to raise and train thoroughbred horses. It included a half-mile track, pastures, and stables. Among the farm’s many products were nationally competitive horses Carolina Queen, King Clover, and Our Joy.

Reverse inscription

Clover Springs Farm’s lead trainer was Edison “Ned” Gaines (1897-1964). A native of Va., Gaines oversaw a team of handlers and was one of the most successful African American trainers of the mid-20th century. He fielded a horse in the 1951 Kentucky Derby, the last Black trainer to do so until 1989. One obituary described him as a “horseman’s horseman.” The farm closed in the early 1970s.