Monrovia Farm is located near Colonial Beach, Virginia in historic Westmoreland County. The Farm is next-door to the birthplace of our 5th United States President, James Monroe, and was once a part of the 2,500 acre Monroe estate.

Monrovia Farm is operated by H. Shirley Powell and his wife, Joan, and their oldest daughter, Cathy Powell Cavender, and her husband J. Andrew (Andy) Cavender, Jr. Monrovia Farm has been in the Powell family for four generations, since Great-Grandfather Thomas H. Powell purchased the first 25 ¼ acres of land in 1907 for $300. Over the last 108 years, additional land has been purchased to create the 138 acre farm.

Monrovia Farm was recently designated a Virginia Century Farm by the Governor of Virginia and the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture. The Virginia Century Farm Program recognizes family farms that have been in operation for at least 100 consecutive years. The Program honors the generations of Virginia farm families who have diligently maintained their farms for the betterment of the community. The Program also acknowledges that the dedicated efforts of these farm families have contributed greatly to the economy of the Commonwealth.


Today Monrovia Farm rents an additional 600 acres of cropland to grow small grains and hay, but the primary focus is raising Black Angus and Black Angus Cross beef cattle on the farmstead. Shirley, Cathy, and Andy purchase locally raised feeder calves from the livestock market, graze them on the grass pastures of Monrovia Farm, and finish them on homegrown alfalfa hay, silage, and Non-GMO small grains. Finished beef cattle from Monrovia Farm are sold at a premium at the Fredericksburg Livestock Exchange or sold directly to local restaurants, butcher shops, and gourmet groceries.