Strawberries: A Family Tradition

Strawberries are a Cottle Family Tradition. Starting in the Fall of 1963, Ned Cottle planted his first strawberry field in Faison, North Carolina. Mr. Cottle sold his produce like all the other farmers to his local Produce Buyers’ Market. Then in early 1970, North Carolina had so many farmers growing strawberries causing an overabundance of the crop that the Produce Buyer Markets offered so little for the farmers strawberry crops that many farmers started dumping their harvest in the rivers to dispose of their crop.

Ned Cottle, the founder and patriarch laid the foundation for a legacy of farming excellence. After his retirement in 2002, his daughter, Joy Dawn Cottle, took the reins of the South Carolina strawberry farms and established Cottle Strawberry Farm in Hopkins and Florence. Then in 2010, Ms. Cottle relocated the Whitehouse Road farm to Trotter Road in Hopkins, seeking additional acreage and more convenient access for her customers.

In 2020, with a vision for growth, she acquired the former Sedgewood Golf Course on Garners Ferry Road in Hopkins. Determined to restore the 183-acre property to its agricultural roots, she enlisted the help of her son, Hunter Bulloch, a fifth-generation strawberry grower. Today, Cottle Strawberry Farm spans over 40 acres—roughly half the area of a large shopping mall—and is flourishing with also growing blueberries, flowers, pumpkins, mums, and even Christmas trees.

In Spring 2024, the dream of creating a premier destination for fun and agriculture came to life with the opening of Cottle Fun Farm. This 20-acre park experience offers a wide array of attractions designed to delight visitors of all ages, including one of South Carolina’s largest Mega Slides, in ground Jump Pillow and Corn Maze.