Clover Springs Farm

Front: 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: 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.