The Cisco Systems co-founder purchased Ayrshire Farm in 1996 for $7 million (AUD $10.6 million) when the property’s early 20th-century manor house had been abandoned for a decade.
Lerner spent three years and tens of millions of dollars restoring the approximately 17,000-square-foot residence.
Located in Upperville, about 60 miles outside Washington, D.C., the property features a stately manor house built around 1911 for Brigadier General James A. Buchanan.
The residence was constructed using fieldstone quarried on the estate and featured modern luxuries for its time.
According to Mansion Global, the acquisition marked a significant life change for Lerner, who left behind her high-profile Silicon Valley career to become a full-time organic farmer.
After being fired from Cisco following its 1990 IPO and later founding cosmetics brand Urban Decay, Lerner sought a different path.
The move to farming wasn’t entirely unexpected given her background. Lerner grew up in a Northern California ranching family with early exposure to agriculture.
Ayrshire Farm became one of Virginia’s first to achieve both Certified Humane and USDA Certified Organic status.
At its peak, the operation included about 2,000 head of cattle and raised approximately 20,000 chickens monthly.
The renovation process was extensive.
Lerner began by restoring the stables for her four shire horses while living in what she described as a mouse-infested bedroom in the main house.
She replaced part of the house with a glass-walled conservatory shipped from England and restored twelve of the home’s thirteen fireplaces.
Now 70, Lerner is looking to simplify her life.
While she plans to keep an adjacent 222-acre parcel where she currently lives in a smaller cabin, she’s ready to part with the manor house.
Daniel Heider of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, who is co-listing the property with Laura Farrell, described Ayrshire as “one of the most significant properties to come on the market in Virginia horse country in recent years.”
