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
Linda C. Welch
In 1852, Adam Allen of
James W. Allen acquired 189 acres from his parents in
1881. He was the first family member to use the railroad to ship his produce to
market. Sarah Pless Allen was his wife and they had two children, one of whom,
Floyd H. Allen, inherited the farm in 1922.
In
1944, Aileen Allen took possession of 71 acres of her
great grandparents’ property. She and her husband William T.
Penland farmed the property, raising registered Angus cattle and
growing corn,
wheat and tobacco. Today, the farm is owned by Aileen's neice, Linda C.
Welch. The farm currently produces soybeans, hay, and cattle.
James Bell
Jacob Bell of
Roy Bell, the founder’s grandson, inherited the land in
1896 and continued the family practice of mixed agriculture. The following
year, the farm came into the possession of James H. Bell, who with his wife
Barbara, raised nine children. They owned the property for only three years
when it passed into the hands of Luther Bell, another of the founder’s
grandsons. Luther wed Elizabeth Leeper and they established a dairy business.
In 1952, J. Leslie and Gerald L. Bell jointly acquired
their great grandfather’s land and thirteen years later, most of their
inheritance passed into the hands of the current owners, the
Donald Newman
In 1900, William Emmons Blackburn established the
Blackburn Farm in
The next owner of the land was William Emmons’ son,
William Edward Blackburn. Under his ownership, the farm produced corn, wheat,
hay, tobacco, hogs and cattle. Married to
In 1952, Donald Newman Blackburn acquired the farm.
Today, Donald is still the owner of the farm and raises hay, pumpkins and Grade
A dairy cattle. On the farm, many of the buildings such as a barn, a corn crib,
a buggy shed, a blacksmith ship, a wash house and the farmhouse remain standing
as reminders of the rich legacy of the farm.
Photo (upper left): This mill dates to 1903.
Daniel B. Churchman
William B. Bruce bought 90
acres north of Dandridge in 1891. With
his wife, Elvira Gibson, and their three children, Kelly, Carrie and Ora, the
family produced hay, tobacco, and corn as primary crops.
Carrie and Kelly
became the second generation owners of the family farm. Carrie married A. P. Zumble and they had
three children, Helen, Elise and Elaine. The farm passed through another
generation and the family continued to produce many of the same crops. In 1963 Daniel B. Churchman, the great
grandson of the founder, acquired the
farm. Today, he and his wife Dolores
live on the farm and mainly grow hay and tobacco. A smoke house and wash house are some of the
reminders of earlier generations on the Bruce Farm.
Mary E. James Musick
The next owners of the farm were
their sons, Robert T. and C. C. James.
C. C. married Nelle Duncan James, however they had no children. Robert
wed Valley Eve Duncan and they had one son named Robert V. James.
In 2000 the great granddaughter of the founder, Mary E. James Musick acquired the property. Currently, the land is worked by Mary’s husband, Larry R. Musick who produces hay and beef cattle. The family, that includes daughter Sarah, is active in the Jefferson County Extension Agent and the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce who often bring groups to tour the farm.
The house at
Photo (Top): A historical photo of the Fairview House from 1950.
Photo (Bottom): A recent photo of the Fairview House.
Sanford E. Fielden
In 1897, Richard Henry Fielden was deeded 57 acres of land by his
parents, William Berry Fielden and Angeline Fielden; however, no deeds have yet
been found to determine when the elder Fieldens acquired the farm. This
property came to be called Fielden Heritage Farm.
From two marriages, William Berry Fielden fathered 12 children and
had 55 grandchildren. Some of the commodities produced on the family farm
during his ownership were hay, corn, wheat, sheep, cattle, horses, hogs and
chickens. Additionally, Richard Henry opened a general merchandise store in his
house that sold basic items such as sugar, coffee, kerosene, salt and other
goods, and as the demand for these types of items grew, he built a separate
wooden structure for the store in his yard.
According to the family’s reports, area farm families brought
chickens and other surplus items to trade for goods and groceries. Surplus
products were taken from the store in horse-drawn wagons to the nearest depot
to ship to larger markets. Richard Henry continued to operate the store until
his death in 1922.
Horace Roe Fielden and his wife, Ida
Ethel (Fennell) were the next generation to own Fielden Heritage Farm. On some 130 acres, they continued to raise
the same commodities, with the addition of tobacco. Horace also continued to
operate the general store and built a larger store in concrete and with
electricity in 1947.
Aside from selling goods at the general store that now included
light bulbs, extension cords, ice cream and sodas, Horace also had a telephone
line that he allowed the public to use. The family recalls that many times this
phone was used to inform families of missing, injured or dead soldiers during
World War II. The store also served as a polling place for elections in the
community.
Per the family’s reports, Ida Ethel Fennell Fielden was an active
member of the Home Demonstration Club. She and other farm women were taught
safe ways of canning, the proper way to serve meats and how to make quilts,
cottage cheese and lye soap. Also, Horace and Ida’s son, Sanford E. Fielden,
served in the Korean War in the medical detachment in Germany for two
years. When he was inducted into the
army, his elderly parents sold the cattle and contracted out the tobacco crop.
Then, following his return to the farm, Sanford’s parents died within 14 months
of each other.
Sanford acquired 57 acres in 1954 and on this land he raised hay
and beef cattle. He and his wife, Elden Leigh (Peck), moved to New Market,
where they established Fielden Funeral Home in 1963. Today, their son, Richard
Eugene, is part owner in the funeral business and also manages the farm and
owns the cattle. He is a member and past director of the Jefferson County Livestock
Association as well as a member of Tennessee Livestock Association.
Photo: View of barn on Fielden Heritage Farm.
Kenneth Frazier
Ernest Bruce Frazier
Solomon and Anna Russell Frazier were the founders of the
Frazier Farm, which dates to 1834 and is six miles southwest of New Market. On
their 67 acres the Fraziers, together with their six children, practiced the
“usual small farm operations in the mountains” of
Kenneth now farms a total of 170 acres and specializes in
tobacco and beef cattle production. Since 1983, he has shared ownership of the
property with Ernest B. Frazier and his family. “Located in
Billie J.
Hickman
In 1883, Mahlon Winstead
established the Hickman Hollow Farm. On
200 acres, he raised corn, small grains, tobacco and cattle. In addition to
managing the farm, Mahlon owned and
operated a livery stable and owned additional property where
The second owners of the farm were
Mahlon and Mattie’s granddaughter, Ethel
Winstead Hickman, and her husband Lonzo Hickman. Progressive farmers, the Hickmans made many
improvements to the property such as remodeling the house, building a dairy
barn and chicken houses, and running water and electricity to the farm. The
couple also began making the transition from animal power to machinery when
they purchased the farm’s first tractor. Ethel and Lonzo cultivated corn, small
grains and tobacco and had a dairy herd and chickens. One of their children was Ross Mahlon
Hickman. His wife, Billie Jean, acquired
the farm in 1977. Their son, Bill Ross
Hickman, great great grandson of the founders, is in charge of the farm’s
production today. He and his wife Gail
raise beef cattle and hay on this farm that has been in his family for 123
years.
Photo: A spring house on the Hickman Hollow Farm.
Christopher M.
Hinchey
Lindsay Edmonds Hinchey
Rebecca and her late husband, Patterson Hinchey, who died in 1862,
had 10 children. She and her children
raised cattle, hay, chickens, tobacco and hogs.
After Rebecca’s death, 65 acres of
the farm went to her oldest son, Henry Hinchey. Henry was married to Mary Jane
Waugh and they had five children. After
Mary Jane’s death, he married Lucinda G. Pierce. This second marriage produced
six children, including son Robert Patterson Hinchey, who acquired the farm
through three purchases to total 70 acres. He and wife Margaret Birsha
Clevenger Hinchey had eight children and continued the tradition of raising
cattle, hay, chickens, tobacco and hogs.
The next heir to receive the land
was Marshall Houston Hinchey. He and his wife, Alma Jane Proffitt Hinchey,
received about 66 acres. Marshall built a pole barn in the early 1940s that is
still in use today. He also constructed a home on the farm in 1944. After
Marshall’s death in 1996, the 66-acre farm went to two of his sons, Albert and
Max, and a grandson, Chris, all of whom received equal shares.
Chris, who is the son of Max
Hinchey, acquired the other shares of land in 2000. He and his wife, Lindsay
Rae (Edmonds), as well as his mother, Sylvia Ann Hinchey, live on the farm.
Chris is the great-great-great-grandson of Rebecca Holdaway Hinchey. He and his
wife currently own 78 acres of her original farm and are actively engaged in
operating the farm, where they raise hay and beef cattle.
Clara Lockhart
Gene and Opalee Queen
The Lockhart Farm, located four miles northwest of
John N. Lockhart, one of John and Mary’s nine children,
acquired 136 acres of the family land in 1844. Not only a farmer, Lockhart also
operated a brick kiln and worked as a cobbler. In 1845, he served as chairman
of the Jefferson County School Board. Married to Sarah Rankin, he was the
father of six children and his son Jesse H. Lockhart inherited 136 acres in
1856. Jesse and his wife Lucinda Elliott were devout Baptists and donated the
necessary land and timber for the construction of the
In 1900, Jesse Lockhart purchased the family land from
his brothers and sisters. He added tobacco to the farm’s products and later
sold 65 acres of the farm. For 50 years, Jesse preached in several East
Tennessee Baptist congregations.
Jesse’s widow Clara Lockhart acquired the farm in 1958
and today lives on the land with her daughter Opalee Queen and her family.
Their farmhouse dates to 1888.
Photo: The
horse and buggy was an important mode of transportation in the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries. The horses and buggy also indicate the prosperity of
the Lockhart family.
Thomas and Mary Crawford
Following the Treaty of
Dumplin Creek on May 31, 1785 between the State of Franklin and the Cherokee
nation, the lands north of the French Broad and Little Tennessee rivers were
opened for settlement. In 1786, Richard
Rankin (1751-1827) and William Bradshaw travelled from
Richard Rankin, a Revolutionary War veteran, along with
his wife Jane Steele of Rockbridge
The Rankin home
was a center of activity in the
Text provided by the Crawford family
Photo: The
McMurray family poses in front of the Mari-Mann farmhouse.
Hood
The Century Farms of East Tennessee contain several
examples of nineteenth century farm operations that soon evolved into small
agricultural trade and community centers. One of the region’s best examples is
the Milldale Farm of
Nathan, “in addition to the farm and dairy operation,
operated a grist mill which was water powered, making flour, meal and feed. He
also had a creamery which he operated along with two older brothers, a
blacksmith shop, a sawmill, a tannery and a general store.” His businesses
formed the core of the settlement that became known as Flat Gap,
In 1916, Robert Best Franklin inherited 152 acres from
his parents. While “growing corn, barley, wheat, oats and tobacco,” Robert
“developed one of the finest pure bred registered Jersey herds of milk cows” in
the region. He was an organizer of the Knoxville Milk Producers Association,
which enabled many dairy farmers to escape bankruptcy during the Great
Depression.
Robert married Josephine Sherrill and they raised three
children. Their son Hood Franklin inherited 200 acres in 1954. As of 1976, he
and his son Nathan worked the farm, producing cattle, hay and tobacco. The
family also noted that the original mid-nineteenth century farmhouse had been
modernized “without losing the nineteenth-century design and décor” and was the
home of Mr. and Mrs. Hood Franklin. In addition, the water mill house, which
dates to 1843, still was used for storage. The family stated that the mill’s
hand-hewed timbers and joists “were in good condition.”
Evelyn Nance Peck Manley
In
1874, John Nance established the Manley Farm on 169 acres one mile west of New
Market. Fourteen years later the land passed into the hands of a grandson W. C.
Nance and his father-in-law Travis W. Loy, who farmed a total of 218 acres.
In 1915, the farm was divided among six heirs. One year
later, William C. Nance and his wife Mary Loy Nance obtained 208 acres of the
family land. The Nances raised cattle and horses and cultivated corn, wheat and
tobacco.
Eveyln Nance Peck, the founder’s great great great granddaughter, and her husband W. T. Peck, Jr., acquired 157 acres of the farm in 1957. They work the land, growing tobacco, wheat and corn and managing a dairy cattle business.
Neil Manley
Gladys Crawford Manley
Just 100 years ago, Reed W. Manley and his family came from
Reed was married to Effie C. Manley
and the couple had three children, Mary
Cate, Rolla R. and Marshall Neil. The
Manelys operated a Grade A Dairy, and raised hogs, sheep, chickens,
tobacco. The “big day of the year was
threshing wheat, oats, and barley,” remembers their son Neil. In 1970, Neil acquired the land. He and his wife Gladys Crawford Manley are
the parents of three children. Neil
received many recognitions including Conservation Farmer of the Year in 1986
and producer of “Champion Alfalfa Hay” in 1987 and 1992.
Neil continues to manage and operate the farm, cultivating alfalfa and orchard grass and raising beef cattle. A main residence, a corn crib shed, a tobacco barn and a storm cellar structure that were built in the early 1900s still stand on the land today. The property was recognized in the book Jefferson City 200 Years in Pictures that was published in 2003.
Samuel Neman, Jr.
Civil War terrorism directly affected the fortunes of the
Newman Farm, which is less than two miles east of
After the war, Gideon Newman farmed his father’s land.
Married to Mary Ann Rankin, Gideon had a large family of seven children, but
died at the age of 41. Mary, her children and Gideon’s two sisters continued to
manage the farm and Gideon’s army pension was often the only cash the family
had at its disposal.
By purchasing additional acres of land and operating a
small dairy, Samuel Gideon Newman brought the farm into the modern agricultural
era. He built a new cattle barn in 1946 and, together with his son Samuel, Jr.,
constructed a tobacco barn and tool shed in 1962. Since 1968, Samuel, Jr., has
managed the property, owning a total of 133 acres. His crops include wheat,
barley, tobacco and beef cattle. Currently, three generations of Newmans live
at the farm.
Ralph Caldwell
On
The farm next passed into the hands of William’s son Anthony
Caldwell. A practitioner of general farming, Anthony married Polly McSpadden
and they raised nine children. Anthony and his family were active members of
the Presbyterian denomination. He was an
elder for many years as were his sons and grandsons, some of whom became
ministers.
In 1962,
Ralph Caldwell acquired 100 acres of the property. For over 40 years he specialized in cattle
and tobacco production. Mr. Caldwell is now in his nineties and lives on the
farm established by his great-great grandfather.
Benjamin Alvah Blackburn
Early manufacturing centers
in
Alvah McSpadden was the second generation owner of Old
Brick Farm. Married twice, he fathered four children. During the Civil War, his
family sided with the Union cause and two sons fought in the Federal armies.
William Wallace Blackburn, the grandson of Alvah
McSpadden, was the next owner of the family land and after his death, his wife
Ida A. Blackburn operated the farm until 1942. In the 1930s, the Tennessee
Valley Authority acquired about one-third of the farm property for use as a
reservoir that is now
Photo: This
Federal style farmhouse was built in 1804.
George Wooten Loy, Jr.
George William Loy
George deeded the land to his three sons, Mack, Zack and Hodge, who managed the property as the Loy Brothers Farm from 1911 to 1926. The land changed family hands twice in the twentieth century before George Wooten Loy, Jr., and his son George William Loy acquired the farm in 1974. Today the Loys farm over 450 acres and produce cattle, swine, hay and tobacco as their major commodities.
George R. Cline
Duane Cline
Jane Cline Brooks
Just one mile north of Jefferson City is the Ruby Bird Farm that
was founded in 1898 by J. M. Bird. He and wife Martha were the parents of seven
children. On 204 acres, they raised cattle, hogs and horses and food for their
table, as well as livestock feed for their animals.
Newt L. Bird and his sister, Susie
B. Cline, received 101 acres each in 1917.
Newt and his wife, Frankie, had two children, John Ellis and Ruby. Susie
left her acreage to two daughters and three of her sons.
The family also reports that in the 1940s, the Tennessee Valley
Authority acquired part of the land for the development of Cherokee Lake and
the farm was reduced to 77 acres. This parcel was willed to John Ellis on his
father’s death in 1952. He subsequently sold the farm to his sister, Ruby, in
1966.
J. V. Cline Jr. farmed this land for
many years, first with his Uncle Newt Bird and then he rented the farm from his
cousin, John Ellis, and then from Ruby.
Ruby never married, and on her death in 1983, four children of J. V.
Cline Jr.— George, Duane, Jane (Brooks) and Sue (Gray)—inherited the farm. They
are the great-grandchildren of the founding couple.
Today, George and his son, James, work the land and mainly raise cattle and pasture. Three generation of the family live on adjoining acreage.
Photo: Cattle on landscape of Ruby Bird Farm.
Simmie E. Cameron
Porter Michael Cameron
Mark Gregory Cameron
In 1901, Warham “War” Easley Cameron, born in
Under War’s ownership, the family grew wheat, oats, corn, grain,
tobacco, hay and various fruits and vegetables. In addition, they raised
horses, cattle and chickens. While managing the farm, War also operated a
sawmill and grain mill. According to the family’s reports, he sawed the pattern
for a local new church known as
After Warham passed away, his children inherited the property.
However, his son, Porter J. Cameron, began buying out the various heirs in the
1920s. Porter married Martha Jane Gilbert from
In 1962, the grandson of the founder, Simmie E. Cameron, acquired
the land. Today, Simmie’s sons, Mike, Mark, Don, Larry and Roger, work that
land that produces grains, cattle, fruits and vegetables. A house that was
built by the founder in 1910 and occupied until his death in 1926 still stands
on the property. In addition to the farmhouse, the land has many other
buildings, including another house that was built in 1946, a barn built in 1935
and a tobacco barn that was constructed in the 1940s.
Simmie owns many of the antique threshing machines, tractors and mills used by his father. During the mid 1980s-90s, he demonstrated the threshing machine pulled by his father’s 1941 John Deere Model D at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge.
Mr. and Mrs. C. H.
Thomas, Jr.
In 1874, Jacob and Elizabeth Bowen Wine established the
Wine Farm. Located four miles east of Dandridge, the Wines initially owned 79.5
acres on which they raised swine and cattle and harvested corn and wheat.
Jacob, the father of ten children, was the first resident minister of the
Church of the Brethren in the community.
His son Elijah T. Wine acquired a small tract of the farm
in 1915. He farmed the property for the next 50 years until his only daughter,
Trula Wine Thomas, inherited 50 acres of the farm in 1966. Trula and her
husband C. H. Thomas remain actively engaged in the everyday operation of the
farm, producing corn, tobacco and cattle.