Magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and pH of soil within the previous farm were significantly higher than plateau soils outside the farm, though more similar to environmental conditions in the cove. The vegetation community within the farm presents a unique blend of species found in both the cove and plateau environments, even though compositionally these communities are distinct in the surrounding landscape. The interplay of legacies, specifically persisting soil nutrient differences that resemble environmental conditions of the cove, and the seed sources for regenerating plants have led to a novel plant community that is more similar to that of the adjacent cove forest than to the surrounding plateau forest. Human alteration of the landscape in the form of agriculture has been common across the southeast; due to changing land use practices, areas that were historically farmed are reverting back to forests. This study is an illustration of how agricultural legacies can alter the direction of forest change within native ecosystems resulting in the creation and long-term persistence of novel plant assemblages.