For a brief historical sketch of each farm, click on the farm name.
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
J. Dallas Bass, Sr.
Rebecca Ingrum Bass
Located fifteen miles southwest of Pulaski, the
Bass-Bethel Farms originally belonged to Joseph J. F. Legg and his wife Nancy
Allen, who purchased 121 acres in 1886. The parents of four children, the Leggs
were quite diversified in their farming operations and their agricultural
products varied from cotton to geese and ducks. Their home was often the scene
for community social events and the family donated two acres of land for the
construction of a public school.
Ella J. Legg was the second generation owner of the farm
and she raised corn, cotton, hay, chickens and dairy cattle on her 86 acres. At
the same time that Ella received her tract, her sister Tera and the founders’
grandchildren, Emma Lou Moore Hargrove and Frank A. Moore, acquired portions of
the family land.
In 1955, J. Dallas and Rebecca Ingrum Bass acquired approximately 46 acres of family land. Nine years later, they received a second tract and currently own 156 acres of land. Rebecca Ingrum Bass is the founders’ granddaughter and she and her husband breed Polled Hereford cattle, Tennessee Walking Horses and other livestock and grow corn, small grains and cotton. The family also reports that a portion of the farm’s original residence remains intact and has been remodeled with modern conveniences installed.
Bert Newman
Another Giles County Century Farm that developed during
the Reconstruction Era is the Newman Farm, which dates to 1870. Joseph R. and
Martha Bradshaw Newman, who were the parents of three children, established the
farm on 148 acres located one and a half miles west of
James B. Black
In 1846, John and Helen Black established the Black family farm on 1,000
acres of land twelve miles south of Pulaski. The Blacks practiced general
farming. One of their six children, Andrew J. Black, acquired 208 acres of the
farm and became its second generation owner. Little is known about the farm’s
development in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. In 1941, however,
O. B. Black became the
property’s third generation owner and in 1977, the land passed into the hands
of its current owner James B. Black.
The great great grandson of the founders, James owns 551 acres. His farm products include hay, corn, beans, wheat and cattle, which are fed in a log barn that dates to the nineteenth century.
Phoebe Elizabeth Barczi
In 1845, Henry K. Burgess established the Burgess family
farm with 107 acres located in the 17th District of Giles County.
Interstate Highway I-65 now divides the farm. In 1874, Burgess willed 87 acres
of the farm to his second son Willis Gudrum Burgess. Willis and his wife Phoebe
Chiles were the parents of eleven children. The family managed a farm varied in
its agricultural products, from cattle and mules to honey and sorghum.
Willis died in 1893 and left the farm to his wife Phoebe.
An excellent farm manager, she purchased just over 38 additional acres of land
in 1904.
Harry and Jewell Burns
W. C. and Emma Burns founded their family farm of just over 271
acres in 1899. They raise cotton, corn,
cattle, hogs, chickens, and horses. They
had three children and
Stacy Garner
Located eight miles south of Pulaski lies the Cave Spring
Farm that was founded 1893 by A. B. Garner, Sr. On 108 acres, the A. B.
cultivated corn, cotton, hay and tobacco. In addition, he raised cattle, pigs
and chickens. Married to Mary Ann Rackley Garner, they had nine children.
The next owners of the land were A. B. Garner, Jr. and
Stacy Garner who were the grandson and great grandson of the founder. Under
their ownership, the farm produced the same livestock and crops as the founder
with the addition of horses and goats. A. B., Jr. married Ninie Alred Garner
and they had two children. Stacy Garned wed Annie Eliza Aymett Garner and they
had one son named Stacey Aymett Garner.
Today, the farm is owned by Stacy Aymett Garner. Along with his son, Kevin Scott Garner, they manage the farm that mainly produces horses, cattle and hay. A two-story, white frame farm house and a smokehouse that were constructed in the nineteenth century still stand on the property.
Fred Stovall, Jr.
Elizabeth Stovall McCoy
Crack Hill Farm is one of the oldest Century Farms in
southern Middle Tennessee and provides important documentation about the
agricultural activities of the region’s earliest settlers. Spurred by an
“unprecedented drought and crop failure in 1806,” William Abernathy left his
native
In 1832, Charles C. Abernathy acquired the farm from his
parents. Charles, the Giles County Circuit Court clerk for 24 years, married
twice and fathered a total of eighteen children.
The land was then obtained by Mr. and Mrs. Fred D. Stovall, Sr. and Mrs. Haywood Abernathy. Their first tract of family land was acquired in 1931, followed by a second tract in 1945. The Stovalls and Mrs. Abernathy managed 309 acres and specialized in dairy and beef cattle. In addition to operating the farm, Fred served as Giles County Farm Bureau President for eleven years. Today, the land is owned by Fred’s children, Fred Stovall, Jr. and Elizbaeth Stovall McCoy.
Leslie Don Creecy
In 1904, Fields O. Newton and Annie Newton founded the Creecy
Farm. Located in the 11th district, the 27.5-acre farm produced
tobacco, cotton, corn and milk cows. In 1913, Rees Porter (Brud)
Other owners of the farm have included William Wyatt Newton (1919), Charlie Lawson Newton (1920), Ruth
Newton Beard (1955) and Margaret Holley Creecy (1967). Margaret and her
husband, William Clayburn Creecy, had five children.
Today, Margaret continues to live on the farm, as does her son, Leslie Don Creecy, the current owner, along with and his wife Beth and their son Shane. The farm supports hay and beef cattle.
John Timothy Curry
Just north of the
During her ownership, the farm
mainly supported cotton and dairy cattle.
Jennie and her husband were the parents of five children. In 1943, the
land passed to four of the siblings -- W. E. Meadows, G. S. Meadows, Margaret
M. Davis and R. G. Meadows. They raised
cotton, hay and dairy cattle. The family remembers that the milk cows were
driven about two miles to be milked.
The third generation to own the
property was the granddaughter of the founder, Johnnie Marjorie Meadows Curry.
During the 1960s and 1970s, she continued to buy shares of the farm from her
relatives. Johnnie married Robert E. Curry and they had four children, Robert
Michael Curry, Carroll Meadows Curry, John Timothy “Tim” Curry and Bernard
Stone Curry. Under Johnnie’s ownership, the farm produced corn, barley, wheat,
soybeans, grain sorghum and cotton. In
2000, cotton was grown on the farm for the first time since 1974.
The next owners of the farm were the
founder’s great grandsons and her great, great grandchildren. In 2004, Tim Curry, the great grandson of the
founder, became the sole owner of the land. Today, he manages the operation and
mainly produces corn silage, shelled corn, and soybeans.
Photo: The founder and her family pose in front of the farm home during the late nineteenth century.
William J. Dugger
The Dugger Farm, located three miles east of Pulaski, is one of the
oldest Century Farms in
The Tarpleys raised fourteen children and their son
Thomas A. Tarpley obtained 80 acres in 1868. Thomas, the husband of Margey Jane
Marks, grew corn and oats and bred swine and cattle. To increase the farm’s
tillable acreage, he purchased an additional 25 acres of land.
In 1901, Mattie Lou Dugger, the founders’ granddaughter,
acquired almost 62 acres of the farm. Later expanding the property by 27 acres,
Mattie and her husband R. B. Dugger raised corn, small grains and livestock.
Their son William J. Dugger purchased the farm in 1943 and has managed the land
ever since. William’s daughter Sylvia Dugger Ables and his son-in-law Clyde
Ables presently cultivate 88 acres, producing corn, cotton and cattle.
Ermer Gene Boyd
Wiley and Roseanna Jackson Boyd established the E. D. R.
Farm, located three miles southeast of Minor Hill, in 1871. They began farming
with 82 acres and grew cotton, corn, wheat and hay. The land’s second
generation owner was their son Yearby Austin Boyd, who acquired the land in
1882. Yearby and his wife Mattie L. Jordan raised beef cattle in addition to
cotton and foodstuffs.
Irmer Austin and Beulah Crowley Boyd were the third
generation owners and in 1977, the farm passed into the hands of their son
Elmer Gene Boyd. Elmer and his wife Chloe Beasley, who own a total of 102
acres, currently operate the property and specialize in beef cattle production.
While the patterns of farm activities have changed over the years, a nineteenth
century log smokehouse stands as a reminder of the farm’s early history.
Edward R. Bass
Founded in 1904 by Edward Benjamin Bass and wife Dallie Bass, the
40-acre farm produced wheat, corn, hay, oats, barley, sheep, hogs, goats,
chickens, mules, horses, and dairy and beef cattle. The couple had one child,
Edward R. Bass, who has owned the farm since 1943.
Bass and wife Linda are the parents of Joey and Eddie Bass. Three
generations of the Bass family call the farm home today, including Joey and
wife Beverly, along with their two children, and Eddie and wife Cathy and their
two daughters.
Both Edward and Joey work the land, which produces corn, hay and
Angus cattle. Progressive farmers, the Bass family works with extension and
soil-conservation offices to increase production.
A two-story house that was built in the late 1800s, a barn built
in 1920 and a milk barn built in 1958 are part of the landscape of this
101-year-old farm.
Photo:
The farmhouse on the Ed Bass Sons Farm.
Mr. and Mrs. Don Foster
Six miles north of Pulaski lies the Foster Farm, which
dates to 1832. William and Jane Moore established one of the county’s largest
farms when they acquired 1,300 acres of land and began to grow corn, wheat,
cotton and livestock. The
In 1971, Don Foster acquired 102 acres of his great great grandparents’ land. He raised corn, tobacco, oats and livestock. Since the original Century Farm survey in 1976, however, Don Foster has died and the current family owner is Rheba Foster Garner.
Alice B. Gooch
Sheila Gooch Price
Angela Gooch Mayes
William B. Gooch purchased 35 acres south of Pulaski in 1884.
Married to Alice Roland Gooch, the couple’s children were Walter, Claud,
Hattie, Georgie, Clarence and Arch. The
family raised their food and made their living from the farm which supported
dairy cattle, pigs and chickens as well as corn, cotton and hay. In 1909,
William purchased an additional 31 acres adjacent to his farm.
In 1943, Walter Gooch became the
second generation owner of the property which by this time had increased to 116
acres. He and his wife Alma May Kerr
Gooch had three children. During their ownership, the family cultivated corn,
wheat, cotton and hay. They also raised Poland China pigs, dairy cattle and
chickens.
William F. Gooch, the grandson of
the founders, and his wife, Alice Bass Gooch, acquired the property from Alma
Gooch in 1965.
Porter C. Hannah
In 1885, D. P. and Susan Abernathy Cameron established the Hannah family
farm, which is ten miles northwest of Pulaksi. The Camerons, parents of five
children, owned 127.7 acres and raised corn, hay and beef cattle. The farm’s
second generation owner was her daughter Ida Virginia and her husband R. G.
Hannah. Corn and dairy products were their most important farm commodities.
Porter C. Hannah, the current owner, acquired the entire
farm in 1980. The founders’ grandson, Hannah owns 776 acres and operates a
major dairy business in addition to raising corn, hay and beef cattle.
Mark Hannah Dunavant
William Joseph Dunavant
Located fifteen miles
northwest of Pulaski is the Hannah-Dunavant Farm that was established by James
Hannah in the 1810s. Under his ownership, the farm produced sheep, cattle, corn
and hogs. Married to Ann Caldwell Hannah, the couple had eight children. In
1856, after the death of James Hannah, his widow, Ann Caldwell Hannah, conveyed
a portion of the original Hannah property to trustees for a school and the
Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
James’s son John Hannah was the next owner of the land.
John wed Diana Ramsay Hannah and they had two children named Marshall and
Price.
As time moved on, Price
acquired the farm. Married to Sallie (Sarah) Campbell Hannah, the couple had
four children. At the death of Price, his estate was settled by transactions
that included a conveyance of 23 acres to Caldwell Hannah and a 38 acre tract
to Steele Hannah. Eventually, the land went to their sister Mary. After the
death of Mary, her husband acquired by Mary’s husband E. M. and his sons. In
1960, E. M. retired from farming and the land was farmed by his sons Mark
Hannah Dunavant and William Joseph Dunavant.
Today, Mark and William Joseph still own the land. The
farm now cultivates corn, wheat and soybeans and produces dairy cattle and
hogs.
Sarah O. Humphrey
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James E.
(Jim) and Mary Humphrey founded the Humphrey Farm in 1896 on 155 acres north of
Pulaski. They were married for thirty years and had five children – Forest, Ed,
Grady, Effie, and Sally – before Jim, a Confederate veteran, purchased this
farm. The family raised hogs, cows, and horses while growing hay, cotton, and
corn. Their orchard produced apples, peaches, pears, and grapes.
In 1935, Jim and Mary’s only surviving son, Ed
acquired 79 acres of the farm and the original farm house. He lived on the farm
his entire life and continued to produce similar crops and livestock as his
father. In addition to this farm income, Ed trained bird dogs and hunted. Ed and
his wife Reba had one child, Billy.
Reba was the owner for a time after Ed’s death.
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Billy acquired the family acreage in 1968.
He and his wife, Sarah Oakleen, had one son, Rex. After Billy passed away
in 2009, Sarah Humphrey took over the management, and she currently leases the
land to a family friend, Barry Alsup. She has some cattle, works a garden, and
is involved in the all decisions involving the farming operations.
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James Blackburn, IV
The Lairdland Farm is located in the
As the years moved on, the land was passed to
James’s oldest son, Dr. James K. P. Blackburn, II. James, II, wed Jean B.
Blackburn and they had two children, James K. Blackburn, III and Jean B.
Tipton. The next owner of the farm was James K. Blackburn, III and he married
Patricia H. Blackburn. They had two children, James K. Blackburn, IV and
Elizabeth B. Rutherford.
Today, the great-great grandson of the founder, James K. Blackburn, IV owns and works the land. The 240 acres now produces cattle and horses.
Betty O. Dickey
It was during the decade after
It was a daughter, “Sallie” Sarah
Elizabeth, who became the third owner of the farm. Married to Larkin Merritt Birdsong in 1878,
the couple raised three daughters, Cordelia, Rosanna and Mary Eliza. A single pen log cabin with loft was built in
1895 and was mentioned in the newspaper of that year. It remains on the farm.
Cordelia received the land from her
mother. She married William Harry
Birdsong of
In June of 1973, the Polly’s sold the property to Johnny and Betty Dickey, who through her mother’s side of the family is the great-great-great granddaughter of James Abernathy. The Dickeys have two sons, Waylon and Stephen, and three grandchildren.
All three generations currently live on the farm they call The Lazy D. On forty-three acres, the family raises cattle, donkeys, chickens and hay along with a garden.
Gary D. Gardner
Jewel Bailey
Carla Jones
The Matt Gardner Homestead is one of seven certified Century Farms
in Tennessee that was established by an African American. Matt Gardner was born
into slavery in 1847 and in 1862, he and his family and 74 other slaves were
sold by Richard Vasser of Limestone County, Alabama to
Richard C. Gardner, a Nashville merchant who owned a
plantation in Elkton, a rural community in southern Giles County near the
Alabama border. After Tennessee
abolished slavery in 1865, Matt began to save money. In 1877 he posted a $1,250
marriage bond to make Henrietta [Jenkins] his wife. The couple had a large
family of eleven children and raised
cotton, corn, hay, sorghum, vegetables, cows, and pigs.
Gardner and John Dixon purchased 106 acres in 1889 and Matt paid the note
off in 1896 becoming the sole owner.
Gardner was a successful farmer who added acreage over the year and
and he also worked tirelessly for his community.
In the late 1880s, he established the first school for blacks in Elkton,
boarded the teachers at his home, and paid their salary.
He served as a minister and purchased a 15-acre gravel island in the Elk
River to conduct baptisms. He
travelled and preached at various churches in Giles County as well as Limestone
County, Alabama. During World War I,
Matt helped to organize the Elkton Negro Army Comfort League which contributed
money for African-American soldiers while the women in the organization knitted
sweaters, wristlets, and caps for the soldiers.
He received a certificate from the Tennessee Home Food Supply Program
signed by Governor Prentice Cooper in 1942 “for having grown 75% or more of all
the food necessary for the family and livestock and in leadership for better
living in the community.” Matt’s death in 1943 was felt by the community.
His obituary reads, “His influence upon his race was noticeable and he
commanded the respect of all the hundreds who knew him while here.
No one could be more missed from the walks of life in our section than
he, for so many years a familiar figure, with his happy smile and cheerful
attitude, his rugged honesty and devotion to his numerous friends of both
races.”
Fifty-four years after the founding of the farm, Matt and Henrietta’s
son, John Gardner acquired 95 acres of his father’s farm.
Married twice to Lera Driver and Alma McClaurine, John had seven
children. He continued to raise the same crops and livestock as his father. His
brother Raymond, like his father, served as a minister and became the pastor for
four churches in the area.
The third owner of the farm was James Gardner in 1970.
He and wife Eunice Gardner had four children.
Keeping in family tradition, he raised the same crops as his father and
grandfather. Another grandson of Matt Gardner, Buford Gardner, served as the
second African-American alderman in Giles County from 1984-1996.
The bridge over the Elk River at US Highway 31 and Dixontown Road was
renamed in his honor for his dedication to his community.
The current owners of the Matt Gardner Homestead and Farm are Gary D.
Gardner, Jewel Bailey, and Carla Jones.
On 52 acres of the original farm founded by their great grandfather,
Gary, his brother Stanley, and nephews, Stanley Jr. and Kalab, raise hay and
cows. Three generations live on the
farm today. Gary and his wife Tilda
completed the Tennessee Master Gardner volunteer certification program.
Carter Harrison Witt
In 1830, Robert Malone
Bugg founded the Midvale Farm in
The next owner of the property was the founder’s
grandson, George Bugg Witt. George married Mattie Wilkerson Witt and they had
three children. While managing the farm, George served as a civic leader and
was a breeder of saddlehorses.
George’s
son, Carter Harrison Witt became the third generation to own the farm.
According to the family, Carter was a very progressive farmer because he was
one of the first to use hybrid seed corn and chemical fertilizer for his crops.
Carter wed Mary Abernathy Witt and they had three children named Jane, Betty
and Carter.
In 1965, the great great grandson of the founder, Carter
Harrison Witt acquired the land. Along with his wife and son, they raise hay
and cattle on the 344 acres. Over the years, Carter has developed a herd of
commercial beef cattle on the farm. In addition to managing the farm, Carter is
a founding member of the Giles Beef Marketing Alliance and was a former board
member of the Giles County Cattlemen’s Association. The farm house and two barns that were
constructed in the nineteenth century still stand today.
Photo: A barn on the Midvale Farm.
Sarah A. Mize
The Abernathy family has been associated with
In 1877, James Polk Abernathy
inherited the farm from his father.
Although married twice, he had no children. His sister, Ada Elizabeth Abernathy Aymett
and her husband F. D. Aymett became the third owners of the farm in 1886. The couple had four children, Lizzie, Julius,
Mattie and McCollane.
The seventh generation of the
Abernathy family to own the farm is Sarah Abernathy Mize who acquired the
property in 1947. She is the great,
great granddaughter of the founder. She
and her husband, the late James Mize, had one daughter, Peggy. Currently, the land is worked by Sarah’s
nephew by marriage, Kenny McAfee, who is married to Cathy Johnston, a direct
descendent of the founders. The farm
supports cattle and hay.
Fred B. Newton
Located on
Joe Parker, Jr.
Legends abound about the Coleman Scouts and their
exploits during the Civil War. These courageous young men, one of whom was the
Confederate hero Sam Davis, carried out reconnaissance missions behind Federal
lines throughout Middle Tennessee. The Parker Century Farm is one of their rare
meeting places that remains intact over 120 years after the war. Located along
Ham’s Creek in
The
In 1974, the current owners obtained 113 acres of the original farm and they now own an additional 1,000 acres of land. Joe and Leslie Parker operate a grade A dairy, raise cattle and swine and grow corn and soybeans.
Billy Rudd
Rudd Farm was founded in 1904 by John William Holley and his then
wife Dovie Redd Holley. The 1500 acres produced, corn, oats, wheat, hay,
cattle, sheep and goats. The farm was
also known for its mules and horses. The couple had 5 children. Dovie Redd Holley acquired this farm, as well
as other acreage, in 1935 and her daughter, Mable Holley Rudd, became the next
owner a year later. The current owner of
the farm is Billy R. Rudd, son of Mable and her husband Herman Rudd. Cattle are raised on the land, most of which
is in permanent pasture and hay. He and
his wife Ernestine Prosser Rudd have two children, Ray and Kathy Rudd Tipper. The remodeled
farmhouse and a log cabin that Ernestine Rudd was born in, stand on the land
today. Mr. Rudd also notes that the farm
has many dry stone walls dating for the 1800s.
Photo: A view of Bradshaw Creek and a limestone fence.
Nancy Williams Bass and
Jerry Bass
The Shagbark Farm dates to 1892 when John Robert Donald
Williams founded the farm. Located seven miles south of Pulaski, the 108 acres
produced cattle, hogs, chickens and corn. Prior to establishing the farm, John
worked in
John’s son, James Robert Donald Williams became the
second generation to own the land. Married to Mabel Buchanan Williams, the
couple had four children. Under James’s ownership, the farm had milk cows and
sold milk to Borden’s Dairy. According to the family, the milk cans were taken
in wheelbarrows to the highway where the milk truck picked them up. With the
introduction of electricity and a refrigerator being added to the household
Mabel began making ice-cream from some of the milk on the farm. In addition to
dairying, the farm produced corn and sorghum and raised sheep, goats, cattle
and hogs.
While James managed the farm, he also measured land for
the Agricultural Conservation Service and later worked for the Tennessee
Department of Agriculture in the Department of Entomology. In the summer, he
inspected bees for disease and during the winter he worked as an inspector at
the tobacco market in
After the death of James, Mabel continued to manage the
farm until her death at age 96 in 2002. During that year, the granddaughter of
the founder, Nancy Williams Bass and her husband Jerry Bass acquired the farm.
Today, some of the land is used for cattle pasture, while portions of the land
are in the Conservation Reserve Program and Wildlife Preserve Program. A log
barn made of hand hewn chestnut logs and a log cabin that were built in the
nineteenth century still stand today.
William Campbell Morris
Established by
Alexander died in 1871 and Margarett managed the property
until the late 1800s when her son Hamilton Crockett Campbell acquired the farm.
Ann Campbell Morris died in 1971 and five years later 115
acres of the family land passed to her son, William Campbell Morris, the
founders’ great great grandson. Morris operates a diversified farm, which
yields corn, grain, tobacco, hay, beef cattle, swine and horses. He uses the
farm’s original hog barn for storing hay and its smoke house for curing hams
and bacon.
William Potts
James Douglas Potts
In 1868, Lewis W. Potts established the Potts farm, which
is three miles south of Aspen Hill. Potts, who owned 50 acres, raised cotton,
corn, wheat, swine and beef cattle. A Mason and a Civil War veteran, Potts
obtained land watered by Richland Creek that once served as an Indian village
site. His crops ranged from cattle to cotton.
Lewis Potts married twice and fathered two children. His
son Andrew Baker Potts became the farm’s second generation owner. Andrew’s
corn, wheat and cotton crops made money, allowing him to expand the farm to 160
acres and to build a new dwelling, which still stands on the property. He too
married twice and had six children, only three of whom reached adulthood.
The founder’s grandson William L. Potts inherited the farm in 1962. Williams and his son James currently own 493 acres and rent most of their land to Lamar Tucker. The farm’s crops are soybeans and wheat.
Photo: The W. L. Potts Farm founder's home.
Mr. and Mrs. William L.
Gaultney
The homeplace of a former
Upon William’s death in
1906, the farm passed to his sons Bert Hood and Ira B. Gaultney. At an
unspecified date, Bert obtained total control of the farm and made several
improvements. He expanded the farm to 228 acres, opened a dairy business and
began to raise sheep and mules. Gaultney married Grace Orton and they had six
children. Educated at the
In 1964, when Interstate Highway I-65 divided the original land, William Gaultney, the founders’ great grandson, purchased 63 acres of the family land. He and his wife Maria manage the farm as a tree farm and raise pine, black walnut and poplar. Their land contains the log birthplace of former governor John C. Brown and the family has taken steps to preserve this landmark.
Photo: This
log house on the White Cloud Plantation Century Farm was the birthplace of
former governor John C. Brown.
John O. and Elizabethine
Gaultney
The second Century Farm in