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
Gaston Garland
The history of Clinchview Acres Farm contains important
information about nineteenth century transportation on the
In 1959, the fourth generation owner of the Clinchview
Acres, Gaston Garland, inherited eleven acres of the original farm.
Jake S. Watson
Carol W. Watson
Not all Century Farms descend directly from parent to child through
the generations. Century Farms also may remain in the same family through
ownership by sisters, brothers, cousins, nieces, nephews, spouses or adopted
children of the founders.
Mossy’s Creek Farm, which is not far from the Hancock-Claiborne county line
remains in the family by way of an extended family connection. Munless Collins
purchased 59 acres in the Mulberry Gap community in 1907. In addition to this
property, Collins also owned several other small farms in Hancock County as well
as a country store in Mulberry Gap. Munless and his wife, Fluie Horton Collins,
were the parents of eight children and raised corn, tobacco, wheat, timber and
cattle.
Daniel Boone Horton, Fluie’s brother, acquired the 59 acres in 1921. Daniel also
owned several other properties, which included farms and general stores. He
generally was known in the area as a merchant and a buyer and seller of
property. Daniel married Adalaid Collins, a first cousin of Munless Collins, and
their four children were Neil Horton, Alyce, Mossy and Isabell.
In 1931, Mossy Horton Watson, a second cousin to Munless Collins, acquired
the farm. She married Estel Watson, and they owned and operated the farm for
more than 50 years. Mossy, a full-time and hardworking homemaker, also was very
active in her home demonstration club and church. Estel was a teacher who later
worked as a chemist for the Tennessee Valley Authority at Norris Dam. They
raised tobacco and cattle and did timbering on the farm.
Jake Watson, the son of Mossy and Estel, and his wife, Carol, looked after his
parents until their deaths. He then acquired what he calls Mossy’s Creek Farm,
in tribute to his mother, in 1985. Jack manages and works the farm, raising
tobacco, hay, timber and Black Angus cattle. He and his wife, Carol Walker
Watson, live on the farm in a new house they completed this year.
Photo: View of Mossy’s Creek Farm
James Parkey
Parkey Farm dates to 1826, when Peter and Mary Shoun
Parkey acquired 1,200 acres of land located seventeen miles northwest of
Sneedville. The owner of a large number of slaves, Peter managed a plantation
that produced corn, hay, cattle and draft horses.
Of Peter and Mary’s twelve children, Issac Parkey became
the second owner of Parkey Farm. With 600 acres at his disposal, Issac, his
wife Rhoda Bales and their six children lived well, despite the inherent
difficulties of farming in a region torn apart by the violence of the Civil War
and Reconstruction.
After Issac’s ownership, the family land passed through
the hands of three more generations. C. V. Parkey, the third generation owner,
received a federal contract to supply beef cattle to feed government employees
at
Photo: A view of the farm landscape on the Parkey Farm.
Rector Kyle Greene
Bill J. Greene
Alfred T. Greene
Many present-day southerners believe that stories about blood feuds are
mere legends, part of Southern lore. The history of Stony Acres Farm, however,
is a reminder that feuds were part of the region’s historical experience. R. D.
and Polly Greene established the Stony Acres Farm, located five miles southeast
of Sneedville, in 1875. The founders and their seven children worked 100 acres
and produced corn, oats, wheat, cattle and swine. Robert A. Greene, who
inherited the farm from his parents in 1883, later added 80 acres to the
family’s landholdings. Robert and his wife Patsy Seal also managed a more
diversified farming operation, which included tobacco, sorghum and sheep.
The Greene-Jones War, a blood feud between the Greene and
Jones families of
In 1941, 205 acres of the family land passed into the
hands of Henry S. Greene, the founders’ great grandson. Today, Henry’s sons
manage his estate and count cattle, swine, tobacco, corn, hay and vegetables as
the farm’s products.