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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nIt\u2019s called Sleepy Creek Honey.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s local honey, sourced exclusively from hives Caudill keeps on rural properties in and around Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. Packaged with care in a honey barn literally steps from Sleep Creek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s 100 percent pure honey, Caudill says. \u201cNothing added by anyone except the bees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it\u2019s honey in the raw \u2013 \u201cgently warmed to ease packaging — not pasteurized or exposed to high heat, which destroys most of honey’s nutritional benefits, including antioxidants, minerals and enzymes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Caudill grew up in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania \u2013 just north of Gettysburg. And that\u2019s where he fell in love with bees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI learned the beekeeping craft not by reading books or watching videos but by putting my hands in hive boxes and working side-by-side with veterans,\u201d he says. \u201cBee yards became a reliably peaceful place to retreat, and I’ve had a special relationship with bees ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He met his wife Jessie (she\u2019s from Warfordsburg) and nine years ago they moved to Morgan County to start a family and a honey business.<\/p>\n\n\n Caudill says Morgan County is ideal for beekeeping. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s always great to be in a place that\u2019s not heavy with big agriculture,\u201d Caudill says. \u201cHerbicides are less of a problem. It’s the insecticides that are more of a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI went from five to five to ten hives, to fifty the following year, to a couple of hundred. And now we are anywhere from 800 to 1,000 colonies right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The colonies are spread around thirty-four or so properties, mostly in Morgan County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Caudill is finding properties for his bee colonies primarily by word of mouth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBack in the spring, I did post a note on Facebook saying we were looking for properties to put bees on. And our inbox just blew up. Not every property worked out. But it was a great response.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEach of the honey production colonies this year averaged out at about 100 pounds of honey per colony,\u201d Caudill said. \u201cBut not all of the colonies are producing honey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn total this year, Sleepy Creek Honey produced just over 10,000 pounds of honey. And we are not done yet this year,\u201d Caudill said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of high school, Caudill went into the trades and became an electrician. He still works as an electrician part time, taking some jobs in the winter. But he\u2019s pretty much full time making honey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have a six year old son and three year old daughter,\u201d Caudill said. \u201cAnd my dream has been to have a business to support my family. And it\u2019s working.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sleepy Creek Honey is being sold at retail outlets in Morgan County — Glascocks, Charlotte\u2019s Cafe, Mineral Springs Trading Post, Coolfont Gift Shop, Cacapon Market, Total Image Salon, Inspired Chaos — at the Eagle Diner in Hedgesville and at butcher shops throughout the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s also being sold through the web site at sleepcreekhoney.com. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe don\u2019t ship honey because the shipping costs end up being more than the cost of the honey itself,\u201d Caudill says. \u201cIf you place an order online, we have a pick up box at the end of our lane.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Caudill also sells bee colonies for people who want to have their own bee hives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey are called Nucs, which is short for nucleus colonies,\u201d Caudill says. \u201cIt\u2019s a new colony for backyard beekeepers or someone who wants to try it. We start selling those in April or early May.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nate Caudill and his family have a sweet little business humming along on the banks of Sleepy Creek in Morgan County. It\u2019s called Sleepy Creek Honey. It\u2019s local honey, sourced exclusively from hives Caudill keeps on rural properties in and … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/honey-min-819x1024.jpeg\")
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