Lauderdale County

            Lauderdale County was established in 1835 and it was named after Lt. Colonel James Lauderdale, who was killed in the Battle of New Orleans. The city of Ripley serves as the county seat. During the Civil War, the county experienced the devastation of war with the Battle of Fort Pillow. While the Civil War was an important event in the county’s history, the county in later years would see the introduction of a railroad line, the construction of a U.S. Army base, the acquisition of a Tupperware plant and the development of industry with Marvin Windows. Lauderdale County has eight Century Farms and the oldest is the Paradise Farm that was founded in 1825. For more information regarding Lauderdale County, please go to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History & Culture website.

For a brief historical sketch of each farm, click on the farm name.

Hyde Farm

Keller Farm

Murley-White Farm

New Farm

New-Williams-Summar Farm

Old Ball Place Farm

Paradise Farm

Pecan Hill Farm

Map courtesy of Carole Swann, Tennessee Department of Agriculture

Hyde Farm

Ralph A. Hyde

Gladys Hyde Whitley

According to the family’s records, the ancestors of Henry J. Hyde Sr. came from England in the 18th century and landed on the coast of North Carolina. Eventually, Hartwell Hyde, Henry’s great-grandfather, moved westward into Tennessee and settled in Triune, a small crossroads community between Franklin and Murfreesboro.

The family owned many acres in Williamson County and several family members are buried in a cemetery near Triune. Henry, who was born in 1847, decided to move on, thinking he would head to Texas, but stopped in the town of Ripley in Lauderdale County, where he secured a teaching job, saved his money and purchased 140 acres 1866. This land is the Hyde Farm that remains in the family today. 

Per the family’s history, Henry married three times and fathered six children.  The Hydes raised cotton, corn, hay, cattle, sheep and horses. A tannery and brick-making yard also operated from this farm. In addition to managing the farm and teaching, Henry served as the first president of the Farmers Union Bank of Ripley, which managed to survive the Great Depression. This bank continued to operate successfully for many years until Union Planters of Memphis, now Regions Bank, purchased it. The original building still stands in Ripley but is now vacant.

            The second owner of the farm was the founder’s son, Henry J. Hyde Jr., who acquired the land in 1928. He and wife Annie Lee Steelman had two children, Ralph and Gladys. The family raised soybeans, wheat, corn, cotton, cattle and sheep. To help with his farming practices, Henry often sought the advice of the county extension agent and Annie was a member of the Home Demonstration Club. Ralph and Gladys, who walked two miles to school each weekday, milked cows before school and did farm chores after returning home. 

            In 1976, the founder’s grandchildren, Ralph and Gladys (Whitley) obtained the land. At that time, Ralph acquired the farmhouse and 30 acres and his sister, who lives in Covington in neighboring Tipton County, took the remainder of the property.

A farmhouse that was constructed in 1917 was remodeled in 1999 when Ralph and wife Donna retired from their jobs in Memphis and came to live on the farm. Currently, the land is worked and rented by Guilford Williams. The farm supports cattle, horses, soybeans, wheat, corn and hay, and Ralph Hyde continues to seek the advice of the county extension agent in managing the family farm.  

Keller Farm

H. Frank and Patricia R. Keller

Progressive farming has been a key theme in the history of the Keller Century Farm. Hiram W. and Roberta Burks Keller established the Keller Farm, which is one and a half miles southeast of Henning, in 1861. The Kellers owned 118 acres which they later expanded to over 400 acres of land. They operated a diversified farm, raising cotton, corn, hay, cattle, swine, horses and mules. In 1868, they built a new farmhouse which remains the current residence. A Civil War veteran, Hiram was a founder of the Bethlehem Methodist Church and the local Henning academy.

            Of the founders’ seven children, Hiram Franklin Keller became the farm’s owner in 1913. He wed Nora Jernigan and they had three children. He raised cotton, corn, hay, wheat, cattle, swine and horses. Their son, Franklin W. Keller became the third owner in 1964.

            Franklin Wade Keller married Joan Lay. Franklin was involved in the activities of the Farm Bureau and F. F. A. for many years as well as a steward in the Henning Methodist Church. He continues raising the same crops as his father in addition to specializing in the breeding of Tennessee Walking horses. They expanded the farm to 400 acres of land.

In 2005, the eldest son, Hiram Franklin Keller II and his wife, Pat became owners of the 188 acres family farm. The farm was added to other purchased farms, some of which were originally owned by Frank’s great grandfather, making a total of about 1000 acres. They have continued the farming tradition by raising hay and commercial cattle. As Frank was growing up he worked with his father in the breeding, training and showing of the Tennessee Walking horses. Frank has practiced good stewardship of the land through conservation techniques. Currently, cotton, corn and beans are raised on part of the farm. Five generations have lived in the home and the sixth generation is now enjoying the Keller Home place.

Murley-White Farm

Steve White

Greg White

The Murley-White Farm was founded by Macdaniel Casey (M. C.) Murley and Mary Jane Murley in 1902.  On the 150 acres east of Ripley they raised cotton, corn, sorghum and wheat.   When M . C. Murley died in 1935, Mary Jane owned the land until 1948.  After her mother’s death, Dorsey Murley White assumed ownership for over fifty years until her death in 2001.  Her son, James Elwood White, owned the land for two years until his death.  Today, the farm is owned by his sons, the great-grandsons of the founders, Steve and Greg White.  The land supports a variety of crops and cattle.  Steve continues to make his home in the farm house that his great-grandparents built in 1914.

New Farm

Rufus T. Smith
Helen Williams Summar
Billy Wayne Davis

            In 1869, W. D. New, a Confederate veteran from Saulsberry, North Carolina, established the New Farm east of Ripley in Lauderdale County. Married twice, he fathered eleven children. On the 98 acre farm he raised wheat, cotton, corn and cattle. After W. D. New’s death, the farm passed to his three daughters  Kate New Criner, Etta New Williams and Effie Mae New Stone. The farm passed through these generations of the family. In 1958, Rufus T. Smith, a grandson, Helen Williams Summar a granddaughter and Billy Wayne Davis a great grandson of the founder became the owners of the farm. They continue to own and manage the farm today.

New-Williams-Summar Farm

Dorothy Louise Summar Woodard

During the period of Reconstruction after the Civil War,  W. D. New purchased 116 acres in Lauderdale County in 1869.   Married to Nannie Wheatly, the couple were the parents of five daughters.   On 116 acres, the family raised cotton, corn, cattle, hogs, sorghum, orchards and chickens.  In 1914, the land was divided between their five children.  The tract that is being nominated as a Century Farm was inherited by Mary Etta  New Williams who was born on the farm in 1870.  She married Frank Williams and they had six children. During her ownership, cattle, hogs and chickens were part of the livestock that was raised and the family also  grew cotton, corn, and orchard fruits on what was essentially a self-sufficient farm.  Mary Etta, lived on the farm all of her life and died on February of 1962 at the age of 91.

            Her daughter Mary Helen Williams Summar inherited the property, owning the farm from 1962 to 2002.  She, in turn, deeded the property to her daughter, Dorothy Louise Summar Woodard, who is the current owner of the farm.  Today, Charles Simpson rents the farm and raises cotton, corn and soybeans on the land.

Old Ball Place Farm

Myra Ball
Jean Ball Spence

            Two miles east of Gates stands the Old Ball Place, which dates to 1850. Its founders, William and Lucy Dunlap Ball began with 50 acres which they later expanded to 155 acres. Like most farmers in the region, they planted cotton and corn. In 1888, family landholdings totaling 254 acres passed to the founders’ son, Columbus Singleton Ball. Columbus married Emmaline Anthony and they had eight children. Their farm produced crops of cotton and corn.

            In 1918, Alvin and Myra Ball obtained title to the family land, with ten acres located in Lauderdale County and 50 acres located in Haywood County. Today, Myra, who is the widow of the founders’ grandson, and Jean Ball Spence, who is the founders’ great granddaughter, jointly own the farm. William G. Spence, III, works the land, raising livestock, corn and cotton. A tenant house and log barn remain on the property.

Photo: Columbus Singleton Ball, his wife and three of his children pose in front of their simple frame house adorned with a pediment above the front door. Of particular interest is the portrait positioned between Mr. and Mrs. Ball of an unidentified but certainly much loved member of their family.

Paradise Farm

Eugene Rice Anthony

            Physical evidence relating to the history of slavery in Tennessee is a part of the legacy of the Paradise Farm, established by Edmond and Mary Walker Fitzpatrick in 1825. One of the oldest antebellum plantations in West Tennessee, it is two and a half miles east of Henning. Edmond moved from Virginia “in search of rich farm lands” and acquired 2,000 acres. The father of four children, Fitzpatrick managed fields of cotton, corn and hay along with a herd of cattle.

            In the midst of the Reconstruction, in 1867, 455.5 acres of the plantation passed into the hands of Edmonia Fitzpatrick Jones and her husband Daniel H. Jones. Cotton and corn were the leading agricultural commodities produced on the farm during these years. The property remained in the hands of the second generation owners until 1941 when Edmonia Jones Anthony, the granddaughter of the founders, obtained the entire 455.5 acres.

            In 1952, Eugene Thomas Anthony received 455.5 acres of his great grandparents’ landholdings. He cultivated cotton, corn and soybeans. Three years later, however, his son Eugene Rice Anthony acquired the farm; he has remained its operator for the last three decades. Currently farming over 1,000 acres, Anthony produces cotton, corn, soybeans, hay and cattle. Several buildings that were probably slave quarters remain on the property and are used for storage.

Pecan Hill Farm

Jimmy R. Price

Nancy Price and son James Y. Price came to Tennessee from Alabama in the 1870s. James purchased his first acreage in 1892, and then in 1901, he bought the land now known as Pecan Hill Farm. Together, the properties totaled around 170 acres. He and his wife, Martha Ballard Price, had four children, Walter Y., Emma, Jimmie, and Eugene. They raised cotton, corn, hay, cattle, hogs and chickens.  

When James died in 1936, he died intestate so his land was divided among all the children.  While his siblings sold their shares, Eugene kept his 40+ acres and also bought back other tracts of the farm until he held 78 acres of the original farm. He and his wife, Ollie Stanley Price, had two children, Thomas Leo and Floyd A.(Floyd died at the age of 3)

Thomas and his wife, Monese Oline Ellington Price, were the next generation to own the farm and, together with their children, Jimmy R. and Verlinda Gayle, they raised cotton, corn, hay, soybeans, cattle and chickens. 

            In 1993, the farm was transferred to Jimmy R. Price, the great-grandson of the founding couple. Jimmy and his wife, Sheila Dover Price and daughter Megan Suzanne, still live on the family farm with some of it in the CRP program and on the remainder, sunflowers and corn etc are grown for the wildlife. The farmhouse, with a date of August 1888 written in the mortar of the cellar, still stands today.