A Fenced Pasture on 5.82 Acres in Red Boiling Springs
$369,000
In Red Boiling Springs, in Macon County — 5.82 acres of Tennessee pasture land, already fenced and ready for animals.
This move-in-ready home comes with a fenced pasture ready for horses, cows, or smaller livestock, a huge rear deck overlooking the property, and an above-ground pool with its own surrounding deck. 3 bd / 2 ba, 1,398 sq ft, built 1994, on 5.82 acres.
Listed at $369,000. Listing courtesy of David Painter, BHGRE Ben Bray & Associates.
An outdoor Central Boiler wood-burning stove already heats both the house and its water for a fraction of typical utility costs, and a 24x28 detached two-car garage with automatic door openers adds real storage beyond what the house itself offers.
Homestead Potential
Water & Infrastructure
This property runs on public water, which removes the well-capacity guesswork that comes with most rural Tennessee acreage, paired with a standard septic system for wastewater. Macon County sits in the Highland Rim region, whose sandstone-and-shale geology tends to produce dependable groundwater, but relying on the public system here means a buyer skips that variable entirely. The listing doesn't mention pond or creek access on the property itself, though Red Boiling Springs' entire identity was built on natural mineral springs that once drew resort visitors from across the region, a reminder of just how water-rich this part of Macon County genuinely is. Confirm the septic system's age and pumping history before closing, since that's the one water-adjacent system here that is fully the buyer's responsibility to maintain.
Crop & Income Potential
Federal cost-share programs through the USDA's NRCS EQIP program frequently fund rotational grazing infrastructure — cross-fencing, water lines, even pasture improvement — which is worth investigating here since the pasture is already fenced along its perimeter but not yet divided for rotational use. At just under six acres, this property is realistically scaled for a handful of goats, pigs, or a small chicken flock rather than cattle or horses at any real scale, whatever the wide-open look of the pasture in photos might suggest. Macon County's Highland Rim soils support pasture and hay ground well without being prime row-crop country, which tracks with how this property is already being used. A buyer serious about rotational grazing should budget for interior cross-fencing as a near-term project, not assume the existing perimeter fence is sufficient on its own.
Sustainability
The outdoor Central Boiler wood-burning stove is the property's standout self-sufficiency feature — it heats both the house and its water supply already, a genuine, functioning system rather than a project to add later, and one that can meaningfully cut utility costs for an owner willing to keep it fed with wood. The fenced pasture and a 24x28 detached garage with automatic door openers round out infrastructure that's more about immediate usability than long-term self-sufficiency ambition. Public water and septic mean this property depends on some outside infrastructure rather than being fully self-contained, a real distinction from a property running its own well. For a buyer whose self-sufficiency goals center on heating costs and small-scale animals rather than full off-grid independence, this property already does real work in that direction.
The Boundaries
At 5.82 acres with an already-fenced pasture, the property has a head start on containment, but a buyer should confirm the fence's actual condition and whether it meets the requirements for whatever animals they're planning to keep — a perimeter fence built for deer-watching isn't necessarily livestock-rated. Macon County's rural zoning generally accommodates small-scale animal keeping on acreage like this, but confirming the parcel's specific zoning and any setback rules before adding new structures is worth the call to the county. The listing notes an additional storage structure beyond the detached garage, so get clarity on exactly what conveys and its current condition, since older outbuildings on rural Tennessee properties vary widely in how well they've been maintained. A current survey is a reasonable expense here given how much of the property's practical value sits in a fence line that needs to match the actual legal boundary.
Beyond the Property Line
Local Flavor & Small-Town Character
Red Boiling Springs built a genuine national reputation in the early 20th century as a mineral springs resort town, and several of its grand old hotels — including the Thomas House and the Armour's Hotel — still operate today, giving this small Macon County town a historic character most rural communities its size simply don't have. Downtown Lafayette, the Macon County seat, sits a short drive south and adds a real courthouse square and small-town commerce beyond what Red Boiling Springs offers on its own. The town's mineral-water heritage is still celebrated locally, and its position near the Kentucky border gives residents easy access to both Tennessee and Kentucky's rural economies. For a property this close to a town with an actual identity and history, Red Boiling Springs offers more small-town character than most similarly-sized rural Tennessee communities.
Agricultural Resources & Neighbor Networks
The University of Tennessee Extension office for Macon County, based in Lafayette, supports the area's small farms and hobby operations with soil testing and livestock guidance suited to Highland Rim pasture ground. Macon County's agricultural base leans toward cattle, hay, and tobacco's historical legacy, though small-acreage goat and poultry operations have become increasingly common as larger farms have consolidated. Feed and farm-supply needs are a short drive into Lafayette, which still serves a genuinely agricultural customer base despite its proximity to the growing Nashville metro to the south. The USDA Farm Service Agency office serving Macon County can also confirm current cost-share program availability for the fencing and pasture-improvement work this property's grazing setup would benefit from.
Outdoor Recreation & Natural Surroundings
Dale Hollow Lake, one of the clearest lakes in the country and nationally known for smallmouth bass fishing, sits within a reasonable drive and anchors a huge amount of the region's outdoor recreation. Macon County's own rolling Highland Rim terrain supports hunting for deer and turkey on private land, a normal part of rural life in this part of Tennessee. Bledsoe Creek State Park and several Army Corps of Engineers recreation areas around the broader Cumberland River system add hiking and boat access without requiring a long drive. Between the lake, the hunting land, and the region's rivers, this property sits well inside Middle Tennessee's most water-and-woods-rich recreational corridor.
The wood-burning boiler doing double duty on heat and hot water is the real story here — that's a genuine, already-installed self-sufficiency system, not a wishlist item. The fenced pasture is ready for animals today, but at under six acres and without a proper barn, this suits a handful of goats or chickens far better than cattle or horses, whatever the listing photos of open pasture might suggest.
— Your Pastures & Porches Team
Listed on Zillow
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