From Foundation to Forever: Constructing Your Future
What was once a tract of dense woods and wild undergrowth has transformed into a serene escape, where the porch swing rocks gently in the breeze and the scent of fresh lumber still lingers in the air. To Billy Brown, it’s more than just a house. It’s White Oak Branch–a property named for the clear-water creek that runs through the back of the land.
Billy grew up in Wilcox County and currently works at Savage Equipment in Baconton building pecan equipment. The long-held desire to find his family’s dream forever home stayed with him for years. He wanted room to breathe, land he could hunt, play, and work on, but not so much that it would be overwhelming to maintain. Although he was originally looking for property that already featured a home, he couldn’t pass up on the tract he found online and wasn’t opposed to the idea of building.
At 70 acres, the Lee County tract was the perfect size. And the setting—rolling, wooded, and private—felt like it had been waiting on him. He moved quickly, starting with financing the land and slowly laying the groundwork for what would eventually become home.
A Different Kind of Lending Experience
Years earlier, Billy had worked with a lender on a property in Georgetown and remembered the frustration he felt during the process. “It felt like I was being pushed through a process that wasn’t made for me,” he recalls.
This time, he turned to Southwest Georgia Farm Credit—and the experience couldn’t have been more different. “From the start, it just felt easier. Farm Credit was more thorough, but also straight to the point. Brian Wilson handled my loan and made it as smooth of a process as possible.”
After securing financing for the land, Billy began clearing pine trees, carving out food plots, and setting up hunting stands. He didn’t build right away. Instead, he gave the property time to take shape. A few years later, once the timing was right, he came back to Farm Credit for construction financing.
“The process was smooth both times,” he says. “And that’s what really stood out to me—how consistent it was. No surprises.”
Building White Oak Branch
With financing in place, the work began. Billy partnered with an architect to bring his ideas to paper and then hired a contractor to bring those plans to life. Together, they designed a five-bedroom, four-bathroom home built to reflect the land around it—open, peaceful, and full of simple comforts. “We wanted something that made sense for us but also made sense for the future,” Billy says. “Even when designing it, we thought about what would work for the next people who might live here one day.”
A large back porch anchors the home’s design—a space for sitting out in the afternoons, keeping warm beside the fireplace, or watching wildlife along the edge of the woods. Inside, the house is open and functional, but full of personality.
The heart of the home is the open-concept kitchen and living room, where spacious design meets everyday comfort. The layout allows whoever is cooking to stay connected to the conversation, whether guests are gathered on the sofa or passing through. A piece you can’t help noticing is a professional-grade FORNO range—an eye-catching centerpiece with eight burners and dual side-by-side ovens that look straight out of a restaurant kitchen. It’s a space built for both quiet family meals and lively holiday gatherings.
Another personal detail of the home is the staircase that leads to their teenage daughter’s room. The steps were milled from a pecan tree cut down on the property. His daughter had one request: she wanted to include green somewhere in the design. So Billy filled the natural cracks in the pecan wood with a green epoxy touch that is subtle but beautiful, nonetheless.
On the wall below the staircase, there’s a piece of decor—a wall mural that is an image of a tree, with a single red bird flying away. It was his daughter’s idea, representing the coming-of-age moment she’s living through and the idea of flying out on her own soon as an upcoming senior in high school.
Naming the Land
From the beginning, the Browns knew this wasn’t just a house—it was a place with a name and a story. White Oak Branch isn’t just a poetic label—it’s the actual name of the spring-fed creek that runs across the back of the land. Clear and cold, it snakes through a quiet stretch of wood that was once home to sugar cane cooking and maybe, if the signs are right, old-fashioned moonshining.
To mark the property, Billy had an iron sign made with the name White Oak Branch and hung it at the front gate. The same name is also painted on the side of an old water tower that still stands near the house—a landmark that will likely outlast them all.
Holidays and the Feeling of Home
In the months since completing construction of the home, the Brown Family has settled in to the slower rhythm of rural living. They’ve added drapes in some rooms, though none hang in front of the garden tub in their master bedroom—they haven’t needed them. The land offers privacy enough. They’re also working with a designer to plan the landscaping, choosing plants that will thrive on their soil and fit the flow of the space.
As for the rest? They’re letting it happen naturally. Billy has already planted 17 acres of timber and has plans to clean up more of the creek area, but he’s not in a rush. “We didn’t have a strict timeline for any of this,” he says. “We just knew what we wanted. And now, we’ve got it.”
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