Dyer County
Dyer County was established in 1823 and named in
honor of Colonel Robert H. Dyer. The county seat is Dyersburg
and its location at the head of Forked
Deer River
made the town grow as a river town during the early nineteenth century. With
its plentiful stands of timber and fertile soil for growing crops such as
cotton, Dyer County has been a rich agricultural area
throughout its history. In addition, the railroad industry has served an
important role in the county with the Illinois Central Railroad having junction
points and depots established in the towns of Dyersburg and Newbern. Dyer County
has twenty-three Century Farms and the oldest is the Sweatt Farm that was founded
in 1844. For more information regarding, Dyer
County, please go to the Tennessee
Encyclopedia of History & Culture website.
For a brief historical sketch of each farm, click on the farm name.
Anderson Farm
Baker-Young Farm
Burks Farm
Cawthon Farm
Childress Farm
Foxridge Farm
Frost Farm
Gauldin Farm
Hastings Farm
Hendren Farm
Huffstutter Farm
Hurley Farm
Jones Hill Farm
Light House Farm
Lucas-Weatherly Farm
Miller Farm
Scobey Farm
Smith Farm
Sudbury Acres Farm
Sweatt Farm
Three Moore Acres Farm
Tom Bell Farm
Webster Farm
The following map is for a general geographical understanding. It does
not provide the specific locations of the farms because of privacy
reasons.
Map courtesy of Carole Swann, Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Anderson Farm
Bill Anderson
The Anderson Farm is located on Dennis Loop in the
Richwoods Community, about 8 miles west of Dyersburg. The farm was officially
established in 1866, but the land had been in the Anderson family for several years before
that. Cynthia Anderson acquired the land in 1865 and deeded it to Lorenzo
William Harry Harrison Anderson (son of Alford C. Anderson) a year later for
good and valuable services. Lorenzo Anderson raised cotton, corn, hay.
Livestock and vegetable crops for food on the 107 acre farm.
Walter L. Anderson, one of Lorenzo’s three sons,
inherited the farm. He raised similar crops, adding soybeans to the mix. The
farm survived the flood of 1937 but the old log barns, smoke houses and other
outbuildings were destroyed. The house was damaged but not destroyed.
Walter Anderson passed the farm to his only child,
William Thomas Anderson. The family moved to his only child, William Thomas
Anderson. The family moved from the farm in 1949 and the homeplace burned about
1955. Active family participating in the everyday operation of the farm ended
about 1965.
Ownership of the farm passed in 1974 to William
Anderson’s widow, Clara B. Anderson of Lexington, and their children, Bill
Anderson of Dresden, Patsy Brooks of Lexington and Walter Anderson of Bolivar.
Bill Anderson owns the farm today and the farm is rented by Jason Lineberry,
who grow soybeans, wheat, grain sorghum and cotton.
Baker-Young Farm
Sandra Hall Arnold
In 1894, Jasper J. Baker acquired over 200 acres from his father
Issac Newton Baker. The Baker family has a long history in the county and is
credited, along with the M. M. Warren family, with founding the community of
Warren Town, the forerunner of Tigrett. Jasper and his wife Jane Pennington Baker had
two children, James Drury Baker and Jasper Newton Baker. The family grew cotton, corn and wheat and
raised Black Angus cattle, Yorkshire hogs,
chickens, mules and horses.
The next owner of the land was James
Drury Baker who obtained the property in 1898. James married Loujean Hassell
Baker and they were the parents of five
children. Their names were Eudora Baker
Young, Georgia Baker Chambers, James Thomas Baker, Issac Hassell Baker and
Allie Maie Baker Pigue. The farm produced cotton, corn, wheat, cattle, hogs,
chickens, mules and horses. Known for
her well-ordered household, Loujean even
raked the chicken yard almost daily.
About 1911, the railroad was constructed through the Baker and Warren
land and at this time, the name of the town was changed to Tigrett in honor of
Mr. I. B. Tigrett of Jackson,
Tennessee who owned the B, N,
& W railroad. During the early years of Tigrett, the community consisted of
a Post Office, a barbershop, a dry goods store and a drug store. When the Tigrett Methodist
Church congregation
outgrew their log cabin at the end of the nineteenth century, the Bakers
donated land for a new white frame building and provided much of the labor and
many of the materials for the church. For example, James Drury Baker and his
brother, Jasper Newton Baker, purchased the pews and hauled them to Tigrett
with their wagons and mules. In 1920,
the building was moved to another tract of land that was donated by the Baker
family.
The third generation to own the farm was Eudora Baker Young. Eudora’s husband, Warner Eugene Young, owned
and operated an automobile repair shop/Mobile gasoline station on a small
corner of the property. In addition, he served as the community blacksmith with
his smithy facilities located inside the automobile repair business. The large
blacksmith’s fire pit was the site of numerous community fish fries.
Eudora and Warner had five children --Jo Young Hall, Elizabeth
Young Farmer, Wana Baker Young, Patty Joy Young (who did not live to
adulthood), and Nancy Coleen Young
Claybrook. The farm eventually passed to
the four surviving siblings.
Today, the land is owned by the great, great granddaughter of the
founder, Sandra Hall Arnold. She and her husband, John Richard Arnold have two
children, Melissa JoNell Arnold Nichols and John Richard Arnold, Jr. Currently,
the farm is worked by Thomas Rice, a successful local farmer, who mainly raises
cotton. Recently, Rice began negotiating with Ducks Unlimited regarding a
wetlands project whereby the land could be drained and farmed during the spring
and summer months and restored to wetlands during the autumn and winter
months. Sandra Hall Arnold is also the
owner, along with Melissa Arnold Nichols and John Richard Arnold, Jr. of the
Dowland-Hall Century Farm, a 150 acre farm of which 20 acres is from the
original 1890 farm. She is among a very
fortunate but few Tennesseans who own Century Farms from both their maternal
and paternal families. Mrs. Arnold has
researched family and community history and comments, “I am so blessed and
eternally grateful to my ancestors for their hard work and their wisdom in
‘holding on to the land.’”
Burks Farm
Cleve Edward Burks, III
James Dent Burks
Linda Drake Burks
The
Burks Farm was founded by Seaton B. Burks and his wife Minnie Ann Chambers
Burks in 1901. Located four miles
southwest of Dyersburg
on Unionville Road,
the 202 acres produced cotton, corn, cattle and timber. In 1916, Seaton sold
some acreage to Dyer
County for the purpose of
making a public road which eventually became known as Unionville Road.
Seaton’s
son Cleve Edward Burks was the next generation to own the land. Cleve along
with his wife Beulah Hendren Burks and their child Cleve Edward Burks, Jr.
cultivated many of the same crops and livestock that the founder had done with
the addition of soybeans. Like many farms in Tennessee, Cleve farmed the land with
sharecroppers. These sharecroppers would supply their labor and receive roughly
half of the crop in return for farming the land.
In
1990, the great grandchildren of the founder, Cleve Edward Burks, III, James
Dent Burks and Linda Drake Burks became the owners of the farm. Today, the farm
produces corn, soybeans and timber. The only remaining building that was
constructed in the nineteenth century is a 12 ft x 14 ft hand hewn log building
with an 8 ft. shed area on three sides. The log building is used to store
turning plows and other old farming equipment that Cleve has collected over the
years.
Photo: A log
building with plows and other farm equipment on the Burks Farm.
Cawthon Farm
Burney C. Zarecor
Located in both Dyer and Gibson counties, two and a
half miles southwest of Yorkville, the Cawthon Farm was established by Dr.
James H. and Margaret Patterson Cawthon in 1863. The Cawthons owned a small
tract of 50 acres which produced wheat, cotton, corn and cattle. They were the
parents of four children. The farm’s second owner was Emmett Cawthon and his
wife Callie Whitson. Parents of three children, they owned 254 acres and raised
sheep, cotton, wheat, corn and hay.
Emmett Cawthon died in 1904 and nine years later, the
farm was divided among his wife and children. Annie Cawthon later acquired much
of the family property and in 1974, she willed this land to Burney C. Zarecor,
the great grandson of James and Margaret Cawthon. Burney currently supervises
the labor of Haywood Thompson, who grows soybeans , wheat and milo on the
farm’s 197 acres.
Childress Farm
Don W. Childress
In 1906, J. A. Childress and wife Emma Jane purchased 45.5 acres
of land from S. K. P. Holland near Bogota. In 1908, they purchased 11 more
acres to total 56.5 acres for their farm. With five children, the family raised
corn and cotton.
In 1925, the farm passed to Roy
Childress. He and his wife, Mary, and their children, Wilburn, Charles, Emma
and Don, continued to raise cotton and corn and also added soybeans cows, swine
and mules. The family recalls that Roy “purchased the first fire and wind
insurance policy meant to cover structures on a farm” from Farm Bureau in the
1940s.
In 1974, Don became the third-generation owner of the farm that
has grown to include 116 acres, 56.5 of which are of the original farm. Don and
his wife, Judy Bargery Childress, have lived on the farm since 1963. Don was a
4-H All Star in the 1950s and was a member of the livestock judging team that
represented Tennessee at the National Livestock Exhibition in Chicago in 1954.
Working the land today are Don and his sons, Wally and Tony
Childress, and grandsons Doug Singleteary and Drew Ross. Crops raised on the
Childress Farm include cotton, corn, soybeans, cows, and swine.
Photo: Barn on Childress Farm with goat in front.
Foxridge Farm
Hamilton Parks Tigrett,
Jr.
Just east of the city limits of Newbern on Highway 77, Reverand Hamilton
Parks established the Foxridge farm in 1847. Married twice, Hamilton had eleven children. On the farm, he
raised cattle, corn and other row crops. As a minister who was ordained by the
Nashville Presbytery in 1838, he helped organize six Cumberland Presbyterian
Congregations in Dyer County communities such as Poplar Grove (now known as
Newbern), Dyersburg, RoEllen, Hurricane Hill, Palestine and Bethlehem.
Hamilton’s daughter, Lutie (Lucy) Parks was the next owner of
the land. Along with her husband, A.B. Tigrett , they cultivated corn, oats,
hay and raised cattle. During the Civil War, A. B. served as a Confederate
soldier and later became the first sheriff of Dyer County. Lutie and A.B. had two children and their son
Hamilton Parks Tigrett, Sr. became the next owner of the land. Hamilton married Sara
Bradford Nunn and they had five children. On 225 acres, Hamilton raised sheep, corn, cattle, hogs,
oats, fruit trees and pecan trees. As a result of his diversified farming, use
of agricultural machinery and Hamilton
became a notable progressive farmer and was even featured in “The Progressive
Farmer” publication in 1930. In addition to farming, Hamilton served as a Tennessee State Senator.
In
1958, the great grandson of the founder, Hamilton Parks Tigrett, Jr., acquired
the land. As a member of the Dixie Seed Growers and an active member and past
president of the Tennessee Seed Producers, Inc., Hamilton became interested in growing and
promoting hybrid seed corn. Today, the farm cultivates corn, beans, cotton,
oats, pecans, sugar beets, wheat, hay and raises cattle and hogs. The farm
still has many buildings that date to the nineteenth century such as a log bran
with a corn crib and the original farm house.
Photo: (top
left) The farm house during the 1870s.
Frost Farm
Mary Clark Thurmond
The Frost Farm is located in the Bonicard community
in Dyer County and dates to 1857. Its founder
was Lucinthia Frost and her husband, Wilson Frost, Sr. Little is known about
what types of livestock or crops that were raised during their ownership.
The next owner of the farm was Wilson Frost, Jr. He
married Margaret Bryn Frost and they had one child. Wilson and his family
primarily cultivated cotton on the land. In addition to managing the farm, Wilson served as a member
of the State Legislature in 1893 and 1895. He also was a tax assessor for Dyer County.
Mary Stevens Frost Nunn became the third generation to
own the farm. She was married to Buckner H. Nunn and they had five children.
Their daughter, Hanna Louise Nunn Clark Walker became the next owner and her
son, Conway Nunn Clark acquired the farm in 1928.
Today, Conway’s
daughter, Mary Louise Clark Thurmond, is the owner of the farm and it continues
the farming traditions established by the founders by producing cotton.
Gauldin Farm
John E. Gauldin
John Michael Gauldin
Kathy Robertson Gauldin
The Gauldin Farm was founded
by Michael O. B. Gauldin.
According to Goodspeed’s History
of Dyer County, Gauldin, of Irish descent was educated at Hampden Sidney
College, located in the Virginia town of the
same name that was founded in 1775.
Gauldin and his wife Margaret were married in 1821 and they and their
eleven children farmed in Virginia before
moving to Dyer County in 1847. The family raised tobacco, corn and cattle
on 1100 acres.
The next generation to own the land
was their son, John William Gauldin. Married twice, he fathered seven
children. Goodspeed’s history of this
family also mentions John’s Civil War
record. He enlisted in Company F,
Twenty-second Tennessee infantry. “He
was captured near Gallatin and taken to Louisville where he was held five
weeks, then removed to Nashville and eventually was paroled.” Two months later, he joined the cavalry under
General Bell and served as provost until the spring of 1864 and then was
transferred to the Bull brigade and until the end of the war he was engaged in
receiving provisions for the army.
Today the property is owned by the
founders’ great, great grandchildren, John E. Gauldin, John Michael Gaulding
and Kathy Gauldin Robertson. Currently, the land is worked by Tom Davis and
Glen Davis who grow cotton, corn, wheat and beans on the farm.
Hastings Farm
Billy C. Ray
Located about seven miles east of Dyersburg,
the Hastings Farm was founded by George Whitefield Hastings who came to West
Tennessee from his native state of Virginia. In 1860, just as the Civil War was about to
erupt, he married Margaret Ellen Holland, born in Dyer County. Hastings
enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1861 and was wounded at the Battle of
Shiloh. In 1883, Hastings registered a land purchase of nearly
77 acres in the Rehoboth Community. Here
the Hastings
family, which included their fourteen children, produced cotton, corn, soybeans
and wheat.
John Arch Hastings, a son of the
founders, wed Mary Bell Cooper and they had six children. Under this second
generation, the cotton, corn, milo, wheat, soybeans, cattle, pigs and goats
were products. After John passed away in
1934, Alta Hastings Ray and her husband Sidney moved into the house to take
care of her mother. Eventually, Alta and
Sidney became the owners of the property.
Billy Cooper Ray, the son of Alta
and Sidney, became the owner of the farm in 1982. Billy and his wife Charlotte Cook Ray are the
parents of three grown sons. Mr. and
Mrs. Ray live on the property and he manages the operation that produces wheat,
corn and soybeans. A number of buildings
remain from earlier decades on this farm that celebrates its 125th
anniversary this year. The Rehoboth Methodist Church
is directly across from the farm and many members of the family, including the
founders, are buried in the cemetery.
Hendren Farm
James Thomas Hendren
Located three miles west of Dyersburg, Tennessee
is the Hendren Farm that was founded in 1881 by Arthur Neal Hendren and Sarah
Ann Warren Hendren. On the 60 acres, the farm cultivated cotton, corn, hay,
cows, horses and swine. Arthur and Sarah had six children and their eldest son James
Denton (Dent) Hendren became the next owner of the farm.
Under Dent’s ownership, the farm produced cotton, corn,
hay, sorghum and a wide variety of fruits. In addition, they raised cattle,
horses, swine, chickens, guineas, and goats. He and his wife Sarah Jane Bishop
Hendren had five children. In 1936, Dent retired from farming and his son
Robert (Bob) Hendren took over managing the farm.
Robert along with his wife Matt Etta Spraggins Hendren
continued to raise the same crops and livestock that the previous owners had
done with the addition of soybeans and watermelons. In 1941, the farm
experience another change when the farm acquired electricity.
In 1949, the great grandson of the founder, James Thomas
Hendren became the owner of the property. Over the next twenty years, the farm
saw more improvements with the introduction of the first tractor in 1950, the
purchase of a mechanical cotton-picker in 1957, being added to the county water
system in 1968 and having the road asphalted along the south side of the farm.
Today, James Thomas Hendren continues to mange the farm
and cultivates soybeans, corn and cotton.
Huffstutter Farm
Mary Huffstutter
The history of the Huffstutter Farm details the
crucial contributions of the Tennessee
farm wife to a successful agricultural operation. In 1855, Samuel A. and Sarah
Harris Moore purchased 75 acres and founded the Huffstutter family farm one
mile northeast of Newbern. The Moores, parents of seven children, later added
25 acres to their landholdings. Their farm products included corn, wheat,
cotton and livestock. During the Civil War, Federal troops raided the farm,
taking poultry and livestock.
James Shelby Moore and his spouse Lela Hill were the
farm’s second generation owners. James possessed 37.5 acres and harvested crops
of corn, wheat, hay, cotton and beans. He also managed herds of livestock.
Lela, in many ways, was a typical Tennessee
farm wife of the late nineteenth century. She “contributed to the family income
by raising poultry and selling chickens and eggs which were not needed for
family consumption. She also churned and molded butter which she sold to
customers in Newbern.” James and Lela Moore “never became wealthy,” but “they
were able to make a living on the farm” even when the failure of the local bank
in the Great Depression took most of their savings.
In 1969, Mary Huffstutter inherited her grandparents’
37.5 acres. She currently manages a total of 224 acres. Steve Dodd works the
property and plants corn, beans, cotton and wheat.
Hurley Farm
Jeff Hurley
Established by Samuel B. and Leenora Powell Bradshaw
in 1874, the Hurley Century Farm is seven miles east of Dyersburg. The Bradshaws cleared their 136
acres of timber and sold the logs. They also donated land for the construction
of a local church and school where there seven children could receive a
rudimentary education. As farmers, the founders produced wheat, corn, tobacco,
cotton and livestock.
In 1907, Bettie Bradshaw Hurley and her husband M. P.
Hurley received title to 70 acres of the Bradshaw farm. They plowed up the
tobacco patch and decided to raise only cotton and foodstuffs. Don E. Hurley,
the founders’ great grandson, acquired 65 acres of the original farm in 1937.
Eventually owning 170 acres, Don managed the property for four decades. In
1976, his commodities were wheat, corn, beans, hay, cotton and Hereford cattle. Since the original Century
Farm survey, Don Hurley and his wife passed away. Their son, Jeff Hurley
currently owns the farm.
Jones Hill Farm
Virginia A. Anderson
Located two miles east of Dyersburg
is the Jones Hill Farm that was founded in 1891 by Samuel Hall Jones and Mary
Jane Vaden Jones. The couple had nine children and on just under 200 acres the
family raised wheat, corn, cotton, beef cattle and hogs. According to the
family, Samuel traveled by wagon and four mules to Hickman, Kentucky
to deliver grain and salt pork along with other farm merchandise. Each time he
returned from his trips, he brought back some necessities they did not grow,
raise, or make on the farm. On one occasion, he returned with a new kitchen
range. The family remembers that many
neighbors from the surrounding area came to see this marvel when it was first
brought to the farm.
Isaac Wesley Jones, son of Samuel
and Mary, acquired the land in 1896. Married first to Florence Jane Sawyer and
then to Maidie Ferguson, he fathered fourteen children. In addition to managing the farm on which
cattle, hogs, mules, corn, cotton, and wheat were raised, Isaac owned land in Dyersburg where his
family lived and where he operated a slaughter house and meat market. He was also one of the first to own a steam
engine and thrashing machine in the area.
Isaac also rebuilt and expanded the log farm house that was constructed
by his father, though it was destroyed by a tornado in 1952.
The farm passed through several
generations and today it is owned by the great granddaughter of the founder,
Virginia Ann Jones Anderson. Currently, Ann, her husband Eddie and their son
Jonathan manage the farm and raise wheat, soybeans, grain, sorghum and corn.
Light House Farm
Florence Tipton Schultz and
Marvin B. Schultz
Many Tennessee
farm families switched from crop farming to cattle breeding in the twentieth
century. The Light House Farm is only one example of this modern agricultural
development. Acquiring 255 acres in 1852, Joel A. and sue M. Light established
the farm two miles west of Dyersburg.
Although he worked in West Tennessee, Joel raised the crops and livestock
common to his native state of Virginia:
tobacco, fruit, swine and horses. According to the family, the “Civil War and
(its) aftermath was a shattering time” for the Lights and their five children.
Federal troops raided the property several times and the family’s slaves
abandoned the farm for freedom behind the Federal lines.
In 1880, Joel died and left the land to his wife and
children. They managed the farm until the middle of the twentieth century when
Joel P. Tipton, the grandson of the founders, purchased the land of the
surviving heirs in 1953. “Exceedingly active in the civic, social, and
spiritual life of Dyersburg and Dyer County,”
Tipton transformed the farm’s operations. He no longer planted row crops;
instead he bred Hereford
cattle. He and his wife Florence O’Bryan also renovated the farmhouse.
Mrs. Florence Tipton Schultz inherited the farm from her
parents in 1970. She still lives in the family’s dwelling built in 1860. Her
husband Marvin B. Schultz works 787 acres and specializes in livestock
production.
Lucas-Weatherly Farm
Beverlee Lucas Weatherly
The Lucas-Weatherly Farm is located six miles
southeast of Newbern, Tennessee
in Dyer County. In 1890, John M. Lucas and Julia
Catherine Everett Lucas founded the farm. On the 84 acre farm, they cultivated
wheat, corn, cotton, cattle and swine. John and Julia had nine children and
their son, J.A. (Jodie) Lucas became the next owner of the farm. He and his
wife Kittie Audrey Balthrop Lucas raised the same crops and livestock as the
founder.
Joe Calvin Lucas, the grandson of the founder, became the
third generation to own the farm. Joe married Willie Virginia Gibbons Lucas and
they had one daughter. During their ownership, the farm acreage had increased
to 252 acres and they raised soybeans, wheat, corn, milo, cotton and cattle.
In 1992, Beverlee K. Lucas Weatherly, the great
granddaughter of the founder, became a co-owner of the land with her mother.
Today, Beverlee’s husband Ronald D. Weatherly works the land and raises cotton,
soybeans, wheat and cattle.
Miller Farm
Elizabeth Miller
The Miller Farm was founded in 1880 by Thomas Jefferson Miller and
his wife Margaret Catherine Miller. The
farm consisted of 150 acres. The couple had five children and built a farmhouse
on the property in 1900. A son, John
Bell Miller became the next owner of the land. Along with his wife, Kate
Crenshaw Miller and their two children, John Miller raised cotton, corn,
soybeans cattle and pigs. The granddaughter in-law of the founders, Elizabeth
Miller, is the current owner of the land. She acquired 150 acres upon the death
of her husband John Allen Miller in 1999. Mrs. Miller notes that the family
gave land for Miller’s Chapel Church of Christ and for the Bonicord School. Two generations including Mrs. Eizabeth
Miller and her daughter Peggy and husband Mike Walker live on the farm
today. Mrs. Miller manages the farm on
which cotton, corn, and soybeans are raised.
Scobey Farm
Robert Charles Scobey
James T. and Mary Jane Moore purchased approximately
100 acres in 1869 and founded the Scobey farm four miles north of Newbern. The
founders expanded their property to over 127 acres. Of their three children,
Charlie W. Moore inherited 43 acres in 1877. He later bought his brother’s and
sister’s shares. A quite progressive farmer, Charlie raised corn, wheat,
apples, peaches and swine. He also planted ten acres of peonies and annually
shipped flower buds to Chicago.
The farm, in addition, contained facilties “to feed and kill steers,” that
“provided fresh beef to 12 different families during the summer.”
Charlie Moore married Mary Cole and they raised five
children. Their children, Eddie Moore, Mrs. Elzie Moore Pointer and Mrs. Alice
Moore Scobey, acquired 128 acres of the farm in the 1940s. Corn, cotton, beans,
cattle and swine were their agricultural commodities. In the late 1960s, the Moore children sold 30
acres to Robert Charles Scobey, the great grandson of the founders. Serving as
a Farm Bureau director and the farm loan officer at the Security State Bank, he
was a leader in the Dyer
County agricultural
community for many years. Since the original Century Farm survey in 1976,
Charles Scobey has passed away and today his heirs own the family farm.
Smith Farm
Thomas P. Smith
In July of 1852, Simon Peter Hawkins and his wife
Isabella Taylor Hawkins established a 100 acre farm that was located three
miles west of Friendship, Tennessee.
On the farm, they cultivated cotton, corn, potatoes, fruit trees, wheat,
vegetable gardens, and timber. In addition, they raised hogs and cattle. Simon
built a log cabin from the trees on the farm and also built a smokehouse for
his family to use. During the Civil War, Simon participated as a soldier and
died as a result of injuries from the war on July 18, 1863. Isabella and the
children retained the farm until it was sold to J. W. Smith, a son-in-law of
the founder who was married to Harriett Rachel Hawkins.
J. W. and Harriett had 10 children and they raised the
same types of crops and livestock as the founder. In 1892, J. W. and Harriett
donated one acre of their farm land for the construction of Zion Hill Baptist Church.
Not long after, a community school called “Dyer College”
was established for grades 1-8 near the farm.
By the early 1900s, the Smiths had built a house around
the log cabin. In 1924, the son of J.W. and
Harriett, Russell Smith and his spouse Rebecca P. Smith acquired the land.
Under their ownership, the farm produced cotton, alfalfa, corn, soybeans, dairy
and beef cattle, hogs, poultry and a vegetable garden. During World War II,
Russell served in the U.S. Navy. After he returned, he found that the farm was
badly eroded and he began a conservation program by building 10,670 feet of
terracing and practicing crop rotation. As a result of consolidation of
schools, Dyer College was closed in 1946.
James
W. Smith, the great grandson of the founder was the next owner and her and his
wife Virginia Prichard Smith raised the same crops and livestock as the
previous owner. They had four children and their son, Thomas P. Smith became
the owner of the farm in 1984. Today, Thomas continues the farming tradition by
raising cotton, alfalfa, corn, wheat, soybeans, beef cattle and feeder pigs.
Sudbury Acres Farm
Helen Sudbury O’Kelly
Sudbury Acres Farm is approximately twelve miles
southeast of Dyersburg.
Shadrach R. and Susannah Sudbury founded the farm in 1848. They owned 279 acres
and their slaves worked the land, raising cotton. In addition, Shadrach
operated a cotton gin, a woolen carding mill and saw mills. The Sudburys had
three children and their son Jermiah W. Sudbury was the farm’s second owner. On
his 80 acres, Jeremiah produced cotton, soybeans and milo. Married twice, he fathered
four children.
In 1971, Helen Sudbury O’Kelly obtained Sudbury Acres
Farm. She supervises the work of Lynn Burnett, who grows cotton, soybeans and
milo on the property’s 80 acres.
Sweatt Farm
Charlotte Putnam Sweatt
The oldest Century Farm in Dyer County,
the Sweatt Farm documents the community’s first steps into the age of modern
agricultural mechanization. Thomas w. Jones began this farm with 300 acres in
1844, but later increased its size to almost 1,000 acres. His agricultural
products included small grains, livestock and tobacco. A veteran of the Civil
War, Jones married Elizabeth Mitchell in 1848. They were the parents of four
children.
In 1904, James Hugh Jones inherited 730 acres. Jones, who
eventually developed a farm of 1,200 acres, was among Dyer County’s
leading farmers in the early twentieth century. He bought the county’s first
tractor in 1913. During World War I, he fulfilled army contracts for mules and
horses. He also was a director at the First Citizens National Bank in Dyersburg. Wed to Nannie
Buck, Jones fathered three children and his daughter Demetra Jones Sweatt
received the farm in 1948. Demetra and her husband Charles E. Sweatt harvested
small grains, corn, beans and cotton. They and their three children also
managed a diary and herds of livestock.
Charles Edward Sweatt, Jr., acquired a portion of the
farm in 1972. In 2000, Charles Edward Sweatt passed away and his wife Charlotte
Putnam Sweatt became the new owner of the farm.
Photo:
Today, the Sweatt Farm proudly displays their Century Farm signs. The
first sign was given when the farm was 100 years old and the second
sign was given when the farm turned 150 years old.
Three Moore Acres Farm
Robert William Moore
Located southwest of Dyersburg, the Three Moore Farm dates to
1892 when Joseph Borum Watson and Tennie Bell Dodson Watson established the
farm. On 81.6 acres, they cultivated corn, hay and cotton and raised hogs, cows
and horses. Joseph and Tennie had two children and their son, George Homer
Watson became the next owner of the land. George and his wife Mary Kate Neely
Watson raised the same crops that the previous owner had done. The couple had
two daughters and their daughter Frances Watson became the third generation to
own the farm.
Frances
had three sons, and her son Robert acquired the property in 1997. With his wife
Patricia and daughter Mandy, Robert lives on twenty six acres of the original
land while his mother Frances continues to live on the land as well. Today, the
farm raises cattle, goats and ducks.
Tom Bell Farm
Tom Bell
The Tom Bell Farm, located eight miles southeast of Dyersburg, is 101 years
old. Founded by Robert Alexander (R. A.
) Bell, Sr. in
March of 1906, the farm supported cotton, corn, cattle, horses and mules on 170
acres. Married to Mary Elizabeth
“Lizzie” Walker Bell, the couple had four children. Their names were Bettye
Eleanor, Robert Alexander, Kathryn Elizabeth and Malcolm Edward. In 1909,
R. A. died and Lizzie was left to
raise the four children by herself. According to the family, it was very
difficult for Lizzie to make ends meet and at one point she sold 40 acres of
timber land for additional income. While raising her children and managing the
farm, Lizzie was also an accomplished equestrian and the first woman in the
county to ride astride. In the 1910 Dyer
County Fair she won first place for her riding abilities and received a silver
trophy for her efforts (which the family still proudly displays).
Bettye and Kathyrn moved to Nashville where Bettye became a librarian at the
Nashville/Davidson County library and Kathryn worked at Vanderbilt University
in the Architectural Department. Robert
and Malcolm stayed in Dyer
County and continued to
farm the land. By the 1940s, the first Grade A dairy was started on the farm
and milking registered Holsteins became a way
of life on the farm for the next fifty-three years.
In 1963, the four siblings became
the owners of the farm, but Malcolm eventually became the sole owner of the
property. Malcolm wed Louella White and they had four children. Under his
ownership, the farm produced Holstein and Jersey
cattle, hogs, hay, cotton, row crops and corn. Over the years Malcolm and his
family participated in the Holstein cattle shows by exhibiting cattle in
regional shows such as the Dyer County Show, Obion County Show, Calloway County, KY show
and the Mid-South Show in Memphis. After Malcolm had a heart attack and with the
oldest son in the Navy, Louella and her six year old son Tom were left to do
the milking. For the next fifty years,
Tom did the milking and maintained the dairy.
Tom was born, raised and has lived his entire life on the farm. Over the years, Tom was recognized for his
farming. He was Dyer
County’s Outstanding
Young Farmer in 1963 and the Runner-up for the Tennessee Young Farmer of the
Year in 1965. Though he has seen many
changes in farming over the years, he recognizes that “no-till farming” is the
“only way to go.” He has attended the
Milan No-Till Day nearly every year.
In 1993, Tom Bell acquired one-half
of the family farm and in 2002 he obtained the other half. The Bells raised Holstein cattle until 1993, and still raise Red Angus
cattle. In addition, the Bells cultivate cotton, corn, wheat, soybeans and
hay. While the family raises livestock
and crops, they also “farm educate” the first graders of all schools in the
Dyersburg School System. Their daughter, Sandy Bell Baker, is the Supervisor
for Dyersburg City Schools and is the primary facilitator and coordinator for
the outreach program.
Tom and his wife Helen Claire Cherry
Bell including Sandy and Joe Baker and their two children, Ashley Claire and
Bradley Todd and Tom Bell II and his wife Stacy Naifeh and their sons Jacob and
Ethan continue the tradition of enjoying the
family farm and contributing to the community.
The Bell
family maintains the philosophy of “leave the land in better shape that you
found it.”
Photo (Top): Malcolm Bell with the first Holstein Cattle introduced to the farm in the 1940s.
Photo (Bottom): A tractor and other farm equipment on the Tom Bell Farm.
Webster Farm
Kenneth R. Webster
The Webster Farm was established in 1887 when James Martin Webster
acquired eighty-two acres of land near the town of Friendship. Married to Martha A. Gentry, the
couple had three children. The family
raised cotton, corn, hay, fruits, vegetables and raised cattle and hogs.
After James Martin passed away, his
son, James Carson “Burley” Webster received 1/3 of the acres and eventually
purchased the remaining land from the other heirs. James wed Effie Elizabeth Bills and they had
four children --James Comer, Maie Fair, David Franklin and Edith Augusta. Burley Webster purchased additional acreage
and the farm increased to 317 acres. The
family reports that they were part of a 13 family neighbor “Beef Club” that
provided beef to all of the families. Each neighbor would bring cattle to the
Webster Farm to process and divide the meat among the families. Effie Webster made soap, quilts, sewed
clothes and washed them with a gasoline powered machine. In addition to his
farm work, Burley served as the Dyer County Court Magistrate for District 1 for
twenty-two years. He also was active in the Dyer County Farm Bureau. He died in June of 1947 and his widow continued to
live on the farm until 1978.
The third generation to own the
property was Franklin Webster. He
purchased some of the property from his parents in 1941 and eventually obtained
more of the acreage over the years. Franklin and his wife Virginia raised cotton,
corn, soybeans, hay, pasture grasses, milo, cattle, hogs and chickens. In
addition to helping with the livestock and crops, Virginia also cooked for field hands as well
as her family.
Kenneth and Donald Webster, sons of
Franklin and Virginia inherited tracts
in 2006 following their mother’s death.
Don, married first to Alice Faye Smith, is the father of Brad and Bart
Webster. With his second wife, Julia
Wilson Johnson, he gained two stepdaughters, Robin and Kara. Don worked at the Bank of Friendship and
retired as its president. Bart Webster
lives in his grandmother’s house.
Kenny and his wife Martha Bivens
built their home on the farm in 1967-68.
They are the parents of Lori Leigh and Beth Alison. Kenny was a science teacher for thirty-nine
years, most of which were spent at Dyersburg
Middle School. Martha and Kenny always had a large vegetable
and flower garden and they “put up food” for the winter. Martha passed way in 2001. Kenny retired from teaching in 2002, lives
on the farm, and continues to have a flower and vegetable garden.
Today, Kenny Webster manages the
farm, and a neighbor works about 65 acres of cotton. Kenny, however, takes care of the
seventy-four acres that are in the Conservation Reserve program. He
constructed a mile long nature trail through the Conservation Reserve area and
invites church, school and scout groups to walk the trail.
Photo: A view of the pond and walking trail on the Webster Farm.