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
Rupert Billingsley
William H. and Sarah Billingsley founded the Billingsley
Farm at an unknown date prior to the Civil War. The Billingsleys and their six
children owned about 250 acres and raised the typical crops of the Plateau
region-cattle, swine, corn and wheat. They also grew some cotton. William
joined the Confederate army during the Civil War and in his absence a group of
Confederate soldiers raided the farm, taking leather and foodstuffs. Returning
from the conflict a broken man, seriously ill with typhoid fever, William died
in 1865.
Title to the farm transferred to his children, but little is known about the family’s history for the next 100 years. In 1964, Rupert and Dorothy Billingsley inherited 100 acres of the family land. Today, Rupert and his son John Rupert farm 180 acres and their labor yields tobacco, hay, corn and cattle.
Jack R. Brown
Betty Brown
In 1896, Hiram Sam Brown established his 100 acre farm near
Granville on land that was a parcel of
around 8000 acres settled by Thomas and Nancy Litton Brown in 1800. Thomas Brown (1773-1867) fought with Andrew
Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. Hiram Brown’s farm is located just south of
the historic Avery Trace and five miles from
Current owners Jack Brown and his
wife Betty raised a big family on this farm, too. Their children are Russell, Randy, Timmy,
Tommy, Sammy, Alan, and Angela. All were
involved in the 4-H Club at
Joseph S. Moore
Born in
Under Joseph’s ownership, the farm continued to produce
traditional livestock and crops. Married to Lillie Lousettie Fox, the couple
lived in the farmhouse and ran a general store that was built on the farm next
to Highway 53. They had one daughter, Thelma Ashley Carver and she became the
third generation to own the land. Thelma and her husband John H. Donald Moore had
two children and they raised corn, tobacco, hay and livestock on the farm. In
addition to farming, Donald worked for Purina Feeds during the Great
Depression. With his job and Sam’s
pension, the family managed better than many during these bleak years. Later Donald sold fertilizer with Armour
Agriculture Chemical Company, later bought by U. S. Steel. He served as the first President of the
Tennessee FFA when it was organized in 1928.
Thelma is credited with naming the farm “Carverdale” for her family and
the fact that the property is located in a dale.
Joseph “Joe” S. Moore, the son of Thelma and John and the great
grandson of the founder is the current owner of the farm. Born and raised on
the farm, he was given his first
Joe and his wife Ruth Ann Huffner have been married since 1956 and
live in the family homeplace. In
addition to being on the farm, Ann taught in
Donald V. Pharris
Cedar Stone Farm was founded by John Pharris, who purchased 84 acres in 1824 from Sampson Williams, one of the
early settlers and county leaders in
Members of the second generation to
own the farm were John and Susan’s daughters, Elizabeth Pharris Cantrell, Polly
Pharris and Susan Pharris.
According to the family’s history, one of the most dramatic events
that happened during this time was the flood of 1948. It was the only time in
184 years that the original farmhouse flooded. The flood was so strong that it
swept away a house about a mile west of the Pharris place. After the rain
stopped and the flood subsided, neighbors rallied and helped clean the
house.
The Pharris family was active in the Liberty Community Club and in
the 4-H club in the 1940s and 1950s. Today, George’s youngest son, Donald V.
Pharris, owns the farm. Over the years, Donald has purchased adjoining land,
much of which his great grandfather had previously owned. Currently, Donald
works the land and raises beef cattle and goats. The old homestead where G. W.
Pharris was born still stands on the property and the Pharris family cemetery
is also on the land.
Photo: Cattle and a family cemetery on the Cedar Stone Farm.
Coleman Clark
Two and a half miles north of Gainesboro lies the Clark
Farm, which dates to 1853. Richard and Rebecca Hudson, who moved to
Upon the death of their parents, the four
By 1959, three of the Davis and Clark partners had died
and the farm went before a public auction. J. J. Clark, his son Phelps and his
son Coleman Clark bought the land, keeping it in the family’s ownership. Phelps
and his son Coleman presently farm the property and corn, cattle, hay, tobacco
and timber are their agricultural commodities. The Clark Farm contains the
farm’s original dwelling, but this building is now used as a tobacco barn.
William Cummins
A grist mill operation was a necessity for a prosperous
rural settlement. Without a convenient location where their grains could be
processed for market, farmers had difficulty even providing flour and meal for
their own tables. The 4th District of Jackson County is home to the
Cummins Mill Farm, established by John Cummins between 1820 and 1825. He moved
to this area of
Married twice, Cummins fathered ten children and his son
Morrison Woods Cummins received the farm in 1868. Morrison was an agrarian
entrepreneur: mill operator, farmer, coffin maker and self-taught doctor.
According to the family, Morrison suggested to his neighbors that “they get a trained
doctor for serious injuries, set bones and dresses wounds.” Encouraged by his
example, three of Morrison’s six sons became doctors.
Morrison wed Frances Pate and they raised ten children.
In 1887, their son Jubel Herndon Cummins acquired a farm of 459 acres. He, his
wife Ginerva Thurman and their six children grew the traditional crops of the
Plateau. Jubel owned “the only grain binder and threshing machine for miles
around” and by harvesting his neighbor’s crops, he annually supplemented his farming
income. The family suffered a serious economic loss when a 1928 flood destroyed
the Cummins grist mill.
In 1938, the current owners obtained about 65 acres of
the farm and today they farm 20 acres of the original family land, raising
tobacco, soybeans and timber. Mrs. Prehn lives in the family dwelling of yellow
poplar, built between 1860 and 1865.
Barry R. Kennedy
The
Kennedy Farm, located northwest of Gainesboro on Highway 56 was founded in 1883
by John D. Kennedy. He and his wife Matilda
Ann (Kemp) were the parents of three children.
On the 676 acres they grew corn, wheat, and oats, and raised dairy cows,
horses, mules, and swine. J. D. Kennedy
and Sons Merchandise Store, the first store in the Gum Springs community, was
owned and operated by the family. Many
members of the family and neighbors are buried in a cemetery on the farm.
John
Buford and Peyton Kennedy were the next generation owners. John Buford built
the first tobacco barn in the community and Peyton ran a general store in a
room of the residence after the original store closed in the early 1900s.
The
current owner, Barry Kennedy, acquired the farm in the 1980s. He raises tobacco, beef cattle, and hay.