Shiloh Preserve

The land of present-day Shiloh Preserve was acquired from the Klutz Family, which had owned the land for several decades.  Originally, it was the Klutz family’s country retreat and cabin, where Jimmy Haynes Klutz’s daughters, Heather and Ashley, spent summers & weekends.  Over the years, the family planted vegetable gardens, built a cabin, and hosted Easter sunrise services with neighbors, and the future parishioners of St. Brendan’s church, now only 2 blocks away. 

Later, the site became the Shiloh Tree Farm where Jimmy, landscape architect by trade, cultivated a variety of trees and bushes for commercial use. 

Southern Gentry Homes acquired the property in 2023 to develop a new residential community, and joyfully inherited a healthy inventory of viburnum, tea olive, ligustrum, cherry, holly, and burning bush, which are integrated with the current landscape.  Of the trees remaining after Jimmy’s retirement, the most notable were over 1,000 mature crape myrtles (averaging 30 feet tall).   The trees were so majestic, Southern Gentry harvested and staged some of the best specimens during construction, and replanted a continuous row of (60) Muskogee and Natchez crape myrtles along the border of the new private streets.  In fact, the internal streets are named for those species:  Natchez Lane & Muskogee Ct.  When harvesting, a specialized tree spade truck was required to dig, tote, and replant each 12,000 lb tree.  

Interestingly, Natchez trees produce white blooms while Muskogee produce red blooms.  The under-canopy tree species forwards the heritage of the land as the terms derive from native American language – this location was originally inhabited by the Cherokee.