Cole Farm was first owned by brothers Jonah Nichols Hampton (7 November 1858-10 September 1907) and James Frank Hampton (5 January 1861-20 January 1935), who purchased eighty-eight acres of land near Purcellville, Virginia in 1882. The property extended south to the Leesburg and Snicker's Gap Turnpike (now Route 7) and north to the Washington and Ohio Railroad (later Washington and Old Dominion). In the mid-1880s the brothers constructed a two and a half story house with Italianate details. The farm was sold in 1889 and passed through several hands before the Cole family obtained it.

William Samson Cole (6 November 1867-3 August 1952) and his wife Katherine Virginia Cole (27 September 1874-27 June 1951) acquired the property and named it Shadowlawn Farm in 1917. They constructed and renovated specialized buildings for a modern and hygienic dairy operation. A milk parlor and roof ventilation cupolas were added to the large barn. The Coles also added a concrete stove silo and a dairy for storing milk at controlled temperatures. After Katherine died, William gave the farm to his son William Curtis Cole (15 March 1912-29 March 1989) and his wife Maxine (17 June 1917-2 June 2002). William Curtis Cole focused on the development of Holstein herds and the improvement of dairy animals and products in Loudoun County. In the 1970s, the Coles dispersed their registered herd and by 1986, sold all their land for residential development except for fifteen acres which is rented to a landscaping company.