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
John Columbus Cate, IV
In the 1810s, Charles Cate, who sought “good land, good
timber, plenty of water and land to establish a homestead and raise a family,”
acquired approximately 155 acres within the present-day town of
Nellie Lou, Nannie Browder and Thomas L. Cate, the great
grandchildren of the founders, inherited 155 acres of the original farm in
1914. These children never married and in 1970, the 410 acres of Big Springs
Farm were divided between John Columbus Cate, I, John Columbus Cate, IV, and
Richard Montague Cate. Six years later, John Columbus Cate, IV, acquired 300
acres of the family land.
Today, J. C. Cate, IV, manages the farm’s daily
operations and J. L. Arnwine works the land, producing cattle, hay and pasture.
Richard M. Cate
Big Spring Farm II, which now is within the city of
Jack Ingram
Established in 1870, the Blair Farm was originally the
195 acre homestead of Isham Reynolds. Soon after acquiring the land, however,
Isham died, leaving the farm’s management to his wife and children. In 1879,
Eliza Ann Reynolds Blair and her husband A. T. purchased the property, which is
in the 12th District of McMinn County. To meet the needs of his
eight children, Blair built a “two-story house, a log milk house, a smoke house
and a big log barn (which) all are still standing, in pretty good condition.”
The Blair family raised livestock and grew hay, wheat, oats and corn.
At his death, A. T. left the farm to his three daughters,
Rachel, Mary and Laura and in 1951, Laura Blair willed the entire farm to her
daughter Anna. At her death in 1977, Anna left the property to her daughter
Milton Simpson
Bluffview Springs was founded by John F. Simpson on
August 22, 1888. Located northwest of
Their son, Floyd Nelson Simpson became the next owner of
the land. Under his ownership, he raised the same livestock and crops as the
founder. Married twice, he fathered seven children.
In 1968, the grandson of the founder, Milton Gene Simpson acquired the farm. Today, the farm raises hay, tobacco and beef cattle on 300 acres.
Photo: A landscape view of the Bluffview Springs Century Farm.
Cullen Smith
Eilsha Brient
In the twentieth century, several Century Farm families,
including the Chestnutts of McMinn County, established retail dairy routes and
directly supplied their farm’s dairy products to city residents. The Chestnutt
Farm, located three miles northwest of Etowah, has played an important role in
the history of commercial dairy production in
Robert Carlin Crabtree
Seven miles east of Calhoun les the Crabtree Farms, which
date to 1855. Thomas and Easter Green Crabtree began farming with 150 acres and
their labor yielded “corn, wheat, vegetables and cattle for family use.” In
1872, the Crabtrees willed 90 acres of their land to their unmarried daughters,
Mary Jane, Susan Francis and Sara Ann Crabtree. When Sara married later in
life, she received ten acres of the property.
Two of the founders’ grandsons, Thomas R. and Joseph Crabtree, inherited the 80 acre farm in 1911. Twenty-four years later, however, Joseph and Thomas divided the tract into separate parcels. In 1960, Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Crabtree inherited 32.5 acres of the original farm. In the 1980s, the Crabtrees farmed a total of 200 acres on which they grew corn, soybeans and hay while raising chickens. Today, J. B.’s son, Robert Carlin Crabtree is the owner of the farm.
Ray Layman
Creekside Farm, which is four miles south of
In 1942, James Ray Layman, the great great grandson of
the founders, purchased Oscar Hutsell’s 120 acres. He also acquired additional
property from his parents, who had been successful dairy farmers. He now owns a
total of 1,808 acres of land. With the help of his sons, Richard and Charles,
Ray currently cultivates tobacco and raises beef and dairy cattle.
Edward Parkison
Mamie Crittenden
Lying in the
Daniel died in 1871 and left 75 acres to his son John Calvin
Parkison. Besides farming, John served as a justice of the peace and a rural
mail carrier. He also donated land for the construction of the
Edward Parkison and his wife Mamie Crittenden discovered
that agriculture in the second half of the twentieth century was a difficult
proposition. When “the income from farming became more uncertain, both Edward
and Mamie accepted outside work” in
Edith Layman Hutsell
The history of the Hutsell Century Farm provides insight into the
century’s first farming crisis, that of the 1920s and 1930s when
George M. Hutsell was the second generation owner of the
land. On his 200 acres, George continued to produce the same farm products as
his parents. He was a founder of the
According to the family, Horace and his wife Mattie
Taylor Hutsell had difficulties adjusting to the realities of early twentieth
century agriculture. “Due to poor management and extravagant living,” Horace
was forced to supplement “the farm by teaching school and operating a country
store.” But even this cash income was insufficient and it “became necessary to
sell parts of the farm.” Horace initially retained 44 acres of land, but then
moved his family to Cailfornia, leaving the farm to Frank Hutsell, Sr., the
great grandson of the founders.
Frank and his wife Lula Ellis introduced the cultivation
of tobacco and cotton to the farming landscape and in 1967, they began to
specialize in beef cattle. Nine years later, they left the farm to their son
Frank Hutsell, Jr. In 1986, Frank Hutsell, Jr. died and the land was
transferred to his wife Edith Layman Hutsell. Today, Edith still manages the
farm.
Samuel Lawrence Glaze
Henry and Susan Wiilhite Glaze founded the Glaze family
farm, which is almost five miles southwest of Sweetwater, in 1830. The Glazes,
parents of ten children, raised the traditional crops of
In 1910, Horace and Edith Kratzer Glaze inherited 82
acres of the original family land. Horace, the founders’ grandson, introduced
tobacco and barley to the farming landscape. He and Edith had two children and
they gave the entire farm to Samuel Lawrence Glaze in 1954. As of 1986,
Jackson J. Glaze
The Grant Glaze Farm is the second Century Farm in
Mr. and Mrs. Charlie
Oliver
Mr. and Mrs. John I.
Knox
Established by Haysher H. and Jane Charmichael Turner of
Hester, the wife of R. T. Matthews, was the mother of
eight children and her family introduced new crops to the farm including cotton
and peas. In 1968, Hester’s heirs deeded the land to his two daughters, Grace
Matthews Oliver and Nannie Sue Matthews Knox. The Matthews sisters and their
husbands manage the farm, while Tommy Spurling works the land, generating its
tobacco, hay, corn, tomatoes and beef cattle.
Michael R. and Diane Turner
Michael Baily Turner
In 1898, brothers Charlie and L. L. Miller purchased a 160 acre
farm in the Mt. Harmony Community, northeast of Athens. They raised beef cattle
and grew hay, tobacco, and peaches. L.L. and his wife Sarah Ann Miller had one
daughter, Stella Miller Bayless.
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In 1910, the Miller’s son-in-law Jacob Bayless purchased the farm
from the two brothers. Stella and Jacob’s two children, T.C. and Eva, inherited
the farm. When T. C. Bayless decided to attend a Chicago dental school in 1930,
he sold his land to Eva Bayless Turner for $5,000 to finance his education.
Eva and her son, Roy Reid Turner, grew
hay and tobacco while raising dairy cows. Eva, a school teacher, was also and
member of active the Home Demonstration Club, and the United Daughters of the
Confederacy.
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After Roy married Billie Evelyn Brookshire in 1942, they lived on
the farm with Eva. The couple had four children – Larry, Sharon, Mike, and
Robert. In addition to managing the farm, Roy worked as a mail carrier. In 1962,
Roy and the McMinn-Meigs Artificial Breeders Association made history when three
sets of twin calves were born around the same time on the farm.
Today, Roy and Evelyn Turner’s son and family own the farm. Michael Roy, his
wife Diane, and their son Baily Turner all live on the 91 acre farm as does
Evelyn. Baily was in 4-H as was his father. They
manage and operate Hill Crest Farm.
Charles O. Browder
A modern leader in progressive farming, the Homestead
Farm is among the largest Century Farms in
Charles O. Browder inherited the farm from his parents in
1917 and quickly emerged as one of the county’s innovative and progressive
farmers. Ten years earlier, he experimented with the breeding of pure-bred
cattle and throughout his ownership he continued to expand the number of Angus
and
In 1939, Charles O. Browder, Jr., inherited the farm from
his parents and he has continued to operate the property for the last 50 years.
As late as the 1980s, Charles and his sons managed a 2,400 acre farm “milking a
registered
Hugh Parkison
The Hugh Parkison Farm, which is nine miles east of
Upon
Mrs. Hugh Willson
James and Sarah McReynolds Willson established the
Hurstland Farm in 1869 when they acquired 334 acres located one mile south of
Niota. By donating land for the town cemetery and the
Hugh M. Willson inherited the entire farm in 1893. Like
his father, Hugh was a leading businessman in the region. A past president of
the Tennessee Farmers’ Convention, Willson operated a dairy and cultivated
tobacco, two agricultural operations that defined progressive farming in the
twentieth century. He wed Carrie Gaines and they were the parents of four
children. Their son James G. Willson inherited the family’s 334 acres in 1934.
Hugh McReynolds Willson, the only child of James and Anna Burnette Willson, acquired the farm in 1959. Hugh and his wife Mintie Cantrell Willson lived on the farm, along with their children Paul and Meredith. The family restored the farm’s original log cabin and raised beef cattle and hay as their agricultural commodities. Following Hugh’s death, Mrs. Willson continues to make her home and oversee the work at Hurstland Farm.
Edna V. Pickens
Julius Kennedy (J.K.) Pickens purchased nearly 400 acres about 10
miles south of
Charles A. Pickens acquired the property in 1909. He and his wife Kizzar Price Pickens had three children - Spencer Price, Marie Dodson and J. K. Grains, hay, beef cattle and watermelons were grown by the family. The women of the Pickens family have a long tradition with women’s clubs. Kizzar belonged to the Tomato Club which was the forerunner of the Home Demonstration Club. Soon after J. K. Pickens and his wife Edna became the next generation to own farm in 1946, Edna joined the Home Demonstration Club. After more than 60 years of active membership, she continues to participate in the Claxton Home Makers. Edna lives on the farm, which has been in the Pickens family for 110 years as of February 14th 2008, and leases acreage to Donny Brown and Curtis Howard who raise hay and cattle.
Photo: The farm house on the J. K. Pickens Century Farm.
Wanda Cate
The John C. Cate Farm, which dates to 1823, is the third
Century Farm in
Hazel Crittenden Ball
The history of the Crittenden family farm typifies the operations of a
small farm in
Arthur left the farm to his daughter Frances Barker and
her husband Homer Shoemaker. The property next passed to the founders’ great
granddaughter Attie Shoemaker Crittenden. During these generations of
ownership, the daily patterns of farm operations stayed the same. But the
fourth generation owners of the land, Bertha Shoemaker Crittenden and her
husband John H. Crittenden, guided the farm into the modern age of agriculture.
The Crittendens purchased an additional 28 acres of land and diversified the farm’s products, introducing molasses, watermelons, strawberries, and cantaloupes. At first, their “chief money crop” was cotton; later it was tobacco. In 1972, their daughter Hazel Crittenden Ball, the wife of Ballard Ball, inherited fifteen acres of the original farm. Today, the Balls live at the farm and raise cattle.
Benjamin Frank Kyker
Nancy Hudlow Kyker
In 1888, Fletcher Garrison and Amanda Buttram Garrison established
a farm northwest of Niota. The couple’s nine children were Bessie,
The second owners of the farm,
daughter of the founder Bessie Garrison Jenkins and her husband Otis, acquired
the farm in 1949. Their three children
were Robert, Richard and Joan. The
family grew hay, corn and pasture and also raised dairy cattle as well as hogs
and chickens for their table. Otis and
Bessie dismantled the original log cabin and added a kitchen, bathroom and
dining room with two upstairs bedrooms to the house. They also remodeled the
dairy barn and constructed a hay and stock barn in the 1950s.
In 1982, the great grandson of the
founder, Benjamin Frank Kyker acquired the land. Today, Frank, his wife Nancy,
their daughter Jennifer, son-in-law Nathan Hill and a family friend, Richard
Kleint, work the land.
Charles and Billie Jean
Land
Robert Taylor Land was the second generation owner of
Land Haven and he farmed 140 acres, specializing in beef cattle, swine and
vegetables. A veteran of World War I, Robert became “a successful merchant in
Robert was the husband of Emily Fortner and fathered
three children, but the farm’s third generation owner was another son of Mary
and William Land, James Richard Land. Married to Mattie Lee Benton, James “was
a Baptist minister and because of his duties (he) relegated much of the farming
to his wife and growing a family of four boys and two girls.” Before the
electrification of the community, the Lands sold “stove wood,” an important
energy source.
In 1947, Charles Richard Land, the founders’ grandson,
inherited 100 acres of the original farm. Almost 40 years later, Charles and
his wife Billie Clower manage a total of 140 acres, raising beef cattle and
pine trees.
Howell W. and
For the last 100 years, the owners of Lane View Farm have
practiced the latest in progressive farming and soil conservation techniques.
Dating to 1883, Lane View Farm is three miles east of Niota in the
In 1950, Geneva Malone and her husband Howell Thompson
purchased the entire farming operation, including 83.5 acres of the original
farm.
Charles H. Leslie
Several farms in
By 1919, the family farm had grown to 120 acres and Allie
Clark Leslie, a grandniece of the founder, owned the property. The wife of
James Leslie, Allie was the mother of four children. The family raised dairy
cattle, cotton, corn and peas.
In 1974, Charles H. Leslie, the founder’s great
grandnephew, acquired 70 acres of the original family farm. Today, he manages a
133 acre property, which retains a pre-1875 log cattle barn. Henry Leamon works
the land and breeds beef cattle.
Mort Trew
The general store, where farm families could buy
virtually any item, from cokes to tractor parts, has been an important part of
the
John Wesley Trew inherited 320 acres from his parents in
1901. John became the community’s leading agricultural entrepreneur. In
addition to farming a total of 770 acres, he managed two threshing machines, a
saw mill, cotton gin and flour mill and operated a general store. Margaret
Porter, John’s wife, raised their ten children.
In 1942, Mortimer E. Trew, the founders’ great grandson,
inherited 45 acres, the general store and the mill and gin operations. Mortimer
and his family operated the family threshing machines until 1957, the saw mill
until 1962 and the cotton gin until 1969. The general store is still in
operation and in 1976 it was listed in the National Register of Historic
Places. “Here,” according to the Trew’s application, “people have congregated
for four generations to pass the time and solve the problems of the world as
well as to trade for sugar, flour, seeds, cheese, boots and shoes.” Mortimer,
together with his son and grandsons, currently farms 445 acres of land,
specializing in beef cattle production.
Gary L. Mason
Roy E. Mason
Just
as the twentieth century began, the Mason brothers, William Newton, Henry Jacob,
and John Rufus, began farming together in McMinn County just east of Niota.
These enterprising young men raised wheat, tobacco, cotton, corn, barley
and dairy cows on their farm. They
also operated a threshing business in the community.
Pulled by a Waterloo tractor, their machine was taken to various farms in
the area to thresh wheat, oats, rye, and barley.
One of the earliest ledger entries from the business dates to 1903, the
year after the farm was founded, where the rate was 70.5 bushels of wheat at .10
per bushel for a total of $7.05.
The thresher is still owned by the Mason family and is still used on the
farm for special events.
McMinn County’s dairy industry is an important part of its history and
economy, and Henry Jacob Mason added to this tradition when he began milking ten
Jersey cows in 1908. Milk, cream, and butter were sold in Niota. The Henry J.
Mason home was the first home to have electricity in the community. In 1927, a
Delco generator was installed and families would gather at the house to listen
to the radio on Saturday nights.
In 1935, Henry
and Roy R. Mason also built a grist mill and crusher that was run by a Model T
Ford. The grist mill is still in
operation.
In 1941, Roy R. Mason, son of the founder and his wife, Fannie
Atkins, took over operations of the family farm.
Roy R. continued the dairy operation and sold bottled milk in Niota—50
quarts every day at .17 per bottle. He also grew corn, tobacco, wheat, hogs,
turkeys, and guineas. Married to
Lillian Hicks the couple’s three children were Mary (Hardin) , Hazel (Lowry),
and Roy J. Mason.
In 1970, Roy J. Mason became the owner of the Mason Dairy Farm and
milked 85 cows. He also started a
dairy supply company that is now owned by the Valley Co-Op.
Roy J. Mason was a member of the McMinn Soil Conservation Board from
1974-2007. He served on the State
Soil Conservation Committee from 1980-1990.
He was president of the McMinn County Farm Bureau for four
years in the 1980s, and was selected as McMinn Farmer of the Year in
1978. Roy J. Mason was also an
active member of the Mt. Harmony Baptist Church and was a 4-H volunteer leader.
Roy J. Mason and his wife, Pauline (Roberson), are the parents of Gary L.
and Roy E. Mason.
In 1999, Gary L. and Roy E. Mason became the owners of the Mason
Dairy Farm. Gary and his wife
Janette Mason operate the dairy farm where 150 Holstein cows are milked.
Corn, wheat, rye, soybeans, pumpkins, and chickens are also farm
products. Gary Mason was
McMinn Farmer of the Year in 1989.
He has served as a McMinn County Commissioner since 1994.
Gary also has served as chairman of the McMinn Agriculture Committee from
2000 to present. Janette serves on
the McMinn County Farm Bureau, and their children, Shelby and Matthew, were
active in 4-H during their youth.
The family also operated the agritourism business of a corn maze from 1999 to
2007, which was sponsored by their neighbor, Mayfield Dairy, also a Tennessee
Century Farm. Several farm buildings
remain from earlier years, including two farm houses dating from 1903, a log
smoke house, and a chicken house.
Four generations of Masons live on the farm today, continuing the tradition of
the family working together that was begun by the Mason brothers more than 100
years ago.
Photo (left): View of Dairy at Mason Dairy Farm
Photo (right): Smokehouse at Mason Dairy Farm
Scottie Mayfield
Lisa Mayfield
Charles Mayfield
Mariah Mayfield
Michael Mayfield
Breeded livestock and modern dairy operations have been
the keys to the success of the Mayfield Century Farm, established in 1833 by
Thomas Brummitt and Sarah Rudd Mayfield. The founders owned 510 acres of land,
located east of
In 1914, the farm passed into the hands of Thomas B.
Mayfield, a fourth generation grandson, who upgraded the dairy and the farm’s
Jack Martin Thomas, Sr.
Once a large antebellum plantation, as well as an
important community center, Meadow Brook Farm is six miles west of
Samuel died in 1892 and left 488 acres of the farm to his
daughter Elizabeth and her husband Walter Hutsell. The family remembers Walter
as a “good Christian, a honest, hard working man.” The Hutsells had four
children, but in 1923 their nephew Martin Luther Thomas acquired the farm.
Martin produced wheat, corn, oats and livestock on his land and sold 295 acres
to Walter Gee. Married twice, Martin deeded the remaining land to his son Jack
Martin Thomas in 1958.
Jack owned 172 acres of the original farm, together with
150 additional acres of land. He was a dairy farmer, but also raised grains,
pasture and hay. He died in 1979 and the property passed into the hands of Jack
Martin Thomas, Jr., and his wife Marsha Harris. The Thomas family lives in the
substantially expanded and renovated farmhouse that dates to the farm’s
establishment.
Horace Patton Moore, II
The use of new farm implements to increase crop yields
and to lessen manual labor has characterized the operations of the Valley View
Farm. Founded by John and Alizabeth Barger Moore in 1835, the farm is two miles
west of Niota. The
A veteran of the Confederate army and former prisoner of
war, Allen Moore fathered two children and his son Horace Patton Moore obtained
275 acres of the farm in 1895. A successful dairy operator, Horace was a model
twentieth century farmer and as early as 1927 had installed milking machines at
his dairy. He was the first in the community to use electricity on his farm and
the first to feed hay silage to his dairy cattle. Mary Zieglar was his wife and
they were the parents of three children.
In 1948, the farm passed into the hands of Jacob Horace
Moore and Allen Richard Moore, the great grandsons of the founders. They
operated the farm for the next 31 years, continuing the dairy business and
growing hay and small grains. In 1979, both Jacob and Allen died and left the
farm to their widows and Allen’s son, Horace Patton Moore, II. Horace currently
works a farm that contains over 700 acres of land.
Eva Bohannon
Located four miles southwest of
Tom G. Bohannon, the bachelor grandson of the founder,
inherited the farm in 1921. Tom was a more specialized farmer than his father and
cattle, horses, chickens, corn, hay and wheat were the foodstuffs he took to
market. In 1949, the farm passed into the hands of Claude and Eva Bohannon.
Claude was the great grandson of Thomas Bohannon. By adding electricity and
indoor plumbing, the Bohannons made “modern improvements” to the farm house. In
the last decade Clause passed away, but Eva still lives at the farm and
supervises its operations. The property’s commodities currently include cattle
and garden vegetables.
C. Cullen Smith
Risher Smith Gilbert
Elizabeth Brient Smith
Sallie Chesnutt Smith
Wright
The arrival of railroads in rural communities gave
farmers a brief time to adjust to new economic realities. Some were able to
adapt their activities and take advantage of the new transportation system
while others refused to change the basic patterns of their agricultural
operations. In
In 1894, one of Susannah’s eight children, Jacob P.
Brient, inherited the farm intact. A bachelor, Jacob kept the family’s
businesses in operation for two years and then the property passed into the
hands of his two brothers, James M. and Mortimer E. Brient. James managed the
farm while Mortimer operated the cotton mill for the next nine years. In 1905,
after the
Three years later, Sallie Chestnutt Brient, the wife of
James M. Brient, inherited the farm. Sallie and her six children, however, left
the cotton business and like many early twentieth century farmers, opened a
dairy which during the Great Depression supplied milk to Civilian Conservation
Corps workers throughout the region.
Elisha and James Brient, the founder’s grandsons,
inherited the family business in 1956. Following James’ death, Elisha became
the sole owner and he operated the farm
for the many years producing corn, silage, hay, tobacco, beef cattle and dairy
cattle. Today, the land is owned by C. Cullen Smith who is the great grandson
of the founder and his three daughters, Risher Smith Gilbert, Elizabeth Brient
Smith and Sallie Chestnutt Smith Wright. On the farm, they raise cattle, hay
and timber.
Paul Swafford
In 1859, Robert D. Pierce purchased 210 acres of land
four miles southwest of Riceville and established the Swafford family farm.
Pierce was a general farmer who was the first in his family to cultivate
tobacco and cotton. His son Campbell C. Pierce inherited the land in 1891 and
in turn passed the farm into the hands of his daughter Mamie Pierce and her
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Swafford inherited 94 acres of the
original farm in 1970. Mrs. Swafford is the great granddaughter of the founder.
Jerry W. Richardson
In 1848, James W. Long established the Pebblebrook Farm,
which is five miles east of
Rufus Long, the founder’s grandson, wed Ellen Chestnutt
and their daughter Mahala Long married Jim W. Richardson, passing the farm’s
name into the
Marion J. Humphreys
Located ten miles from
In 1962, John’s and Mattie’s
daughter, Roxie Mae Kyker Humphreys became the second generation to own the
farm. Roxie married Guy Jackson
Humphreys and they had two children. Their names were Anna Mae Humphreys and
Marion Jackson Humphreys. During their ownership, the farm produced tobacco,
cattle, hogs, and sugar cane. According to the family, a molasses mill was
moved from Virgil Kyker’s farm and assembled near the spring during Roxie’s and
G. J.’ s ownership.
On February 19, 1982, Roxie deeded
the land to her son, Marion, who is the current owner of the land. Today,
Marion and his wife work the land with the help of their children Linda
Nichols, Ronnie Humphreys and Gail Humphreys.
They have a vegetable garden and raise cattle. The original farm house and barn are still
standing and being used. The logs and lumber for the barn were hand hued and parts were built with
wooden pegs instead of nails. Under the tin roof, some single oak boards span
the entire length of the barn. In addition to the barn, the family reports that
there is an old turkey house and a chicken house that are now being used for storage.
The farm also has a family cemetery where the founder, his wife and other Kyker
relatives are buried. Officially registered with the McMinn County Cemetery
Registry, the cemetery has been maintained and is sometimes referred to as the
old
Patricia Parker
The Seth Hutsell Farm dates to 1849, when Andrew and Mary
Earheart Hutsell of
In 1865, John E. Hutsell inherited a portion of the farm.
He and his wife Margaret Bonner raised seven children and the family practiced
general farming on their land. Walter Hutsell, the founders’ grandson, owned the
farm from 1912 to 1932. He married Elizabeth Thomas and fathered four children.
Seth, one of the children, obtained the farm in 1932, during the hard times of
the Great Depression.
For over 50 years, the Hutsells have managed a 160 acre
farm. Ray Layman, a descendent of Andrew Hutsell, worked the land. Today,
Patricia Parker owns the property.
Gene Sharp
The Sharp Farm, which is five miles west of Riceville, dates to 1858
when John F. and Nancy Sharp acquired the farm’s initial 340 acres of land.
Little is known about the farm’s early history. The second generation owner was
Frank Sharp, who married Lula Bryan and fathered five children. On their 200
acres, the Sharps raised cattle, corn and vegetables. They willed the farm
intact to their single daughters, Cora and Ana Sharp.
Ana Sharp, who is 84 years old, still lives on the farm,
but in 1977 she deeded the land to Gene Sharp, the founders’ great grandson.
Gene and his wife Blanche operate 200 acres, which yielded corn, tobacco,
wheat, hay and livestock. They also live in the old family home built in 1877.
Wade M. Shultz
Cecilia F. Shultz
In 1902, William Harris Shults and Susan R. Shults founded a farm
near
From November 1910 to 1928, William and Susan’s oldest son, Daniel
Wesley, worked the farm by cutting crossties, selling watermelons, raising
sheep and logging wood to support his mother, brother, two sisters, wife, Katie
and their four children, William Hubert, Dorothy Sue, Zenna Lee and James
Wesley. Under Daniel’s ownership, the family added a Grade-A dairy, hogs,
tobacco and cotton. In 1924, he tore
down an older dwelling and built a two-story, nine-room house with two porches
and a small basement.
Daniel Wesley was also very active in the community. In 1928, he
was elected trustee of
The third generation to own the farm was James Wesley and Sarah
Lou Shultz. During their ownership, they purchased 80 additional acres on the
north side of the original 234.5 acres. Although they had built a five-room
frame house with a small basement when they married in 1939, the couple decided
to build another house in 1964. In addition to the new house, the couple added
a silo, modern dairy equipment, tractors, a combine, a hay baler, a bush hog
and raised 100 white
In 1969, the great-grandson of the founder, Wade M. Shultz, and
his wife, Cecilia, acquired the farm. They are the parents of Patrick Wade,
Joshua Wesley Cecil and Russell Matthew. Over the years, Wade and Cecilia have
purchased 180 additional acres on the south side of the original land, built a
two-story house and constructed a farm market on the original property.
Today, Wade and his son Russell work the land and raise beef
cattle, hay, apple orchards, sweet corn, pumpkins, beans, watermelons,
blueberries, blackberries and cantaloupes. The farm has many historic buildings
on the land, including a rental house, WPA outhouse, a rock spring house, an
original horse barn, a dairy barn, a cattle and hay barn, a tobacco barn, a
silo, a smokehouse, tool sheds and a woodshed.
William Clifford Slack
Four miles east of
Lucy Smith
Acquiring approximately 100 acres in 1882, Abraham C. and
Elizabeth McKenzie Smith established the Smith family farm six miles west of
Etowah. The parents of ten children, the Smiths were prosperous farmers of hay,
corn, wheat, horses, dairy products, vegetables and sugar cane. When they
deeded the property to their son Winslow Smith, it contained approximately 233
acres of land.
Winslow purchased the homeplace of his wife Gertie Wilson
and continued planting the same crops as
his parents. In 1955, Winslow and Gertie’s son John Wilson Smith began dairy
operations at the farm with 30 head of cattle. Eight years later, John and his
wife Lucy Henley formally acquired the family’s 233 acres. Their dairy remained
in operation until 1971 and the family tilled crops of hay, corn and wheat until
the early 1980s. Currently the Smiths rent much of their land to Willie
Hammonds.
James A. Thomas
The Thomas Farm was one of the major antebellum
plantations in
Jonathan died in 1863 and left the farm to his wife Jane
and his daughter Harriett Thomas. Harriett owned and operated the farm for the
remainder of the nineteenth century, leaving it to her brother Alfred C. Thomas
upon her death in 1901.
James A. Thomas, the founders’ grandson, obtained the
farm in 1920. His wife Eliza B. Thomas inherited the property in 1952 and she
has managed the farm’s operations over the last three decades. Today, the farm
has 100 acres of the original land in cultivation. E. B. Bohannon, Jr., a
nephew of Mrs. Thomas, works cattle barn that was built prior to 1875.
Donald O. Hutsell
Lou Jean Hutsell
By 1954, the full 73 acres of land had been purchased by Bennett C. Hutsell, grandson of the founders, and his wife, Carol Frye. Currently managing and operating the farm is Donald Hutsell, the grandson of Carroll and Nannie Hutsell and son of Clyde Hutsell. He and his wife, Lou Jean, live on the family farm and on their property, which includes another parcel of some 87 acres, they raise hay, grapes, and beef.
Photo: Tranquility Farms sign and fields.
Sarah Kate Parkison
Descendents of Manual and Nancy Smith Parkison also own
the Valley Home Farm, which stands ten miles east of
By 1949, Sarah Kate Parkison had acquired 100 acres of
her great grandparents’ land. She and her brothers Fred and Charles now manage
the farm which produced livestock and hay. Kate lives in a four-room log house
that dates to the mid-nineteenth century.
Emily I. Varnell
Edna Varnell Pickens
James E. Varnell
George L. Varnell
Mary Ruth Varnell
Matthews
Two miles north of Calhoun stands the Varnell Farm, which
dates to 1843 when David and Martha Varnell acquired 120 acres of land. The
Varnells were traditional
George Varnell, the founders’ grandson, received 97 acres
of the property in 1918. Producing tobacco, hay and cattle, George farmed the
land for most of the twentieth century. In 1977, George and Nell Swafford
Varnell’s five children inherited the land and today they continue to manage
the farm’s operations.
Paul T. Matthews
From distilled spirits to tobacco, the generations who
have lived and worked on the Matthews Century Farm have always produced
valuable cash crops. Acquiring 80 acres of land located two miles west of
Riceville, William and Sarah Davis Stephenson established the W. T. Matthews
Farm in 1872. Besides producing corn, cotton, cattle and swine, the Stephensons
also operated a whiskey still on their property. In 1904, one of their eight
children, W. E. Stephenson, inherited the land. He added wheat to the farm’s
agricultural products. Married to Sadie Gaston, Stephenson was the father of
six children.
In 1950 Ester Stephenson Dinsmore, the founders’
granddaughter, inherited a portion of the farm and three years later W. T.
Matthews, another grandchild of the founders, acquired 75 acres of the original
family land from Ester. Between 1953 and 1976, Matthews and his family expanded
the size of the farm by 200 acres and introduced tobacco to the farm’s operations.
In 1976, his son Paul and grandson William Thomas Matthews worked the land and
upon the death of W. T. Matthews, they inherited the farm.
Donald Wilson
Joan Wilson
Alan Wilson
Established by Joshua B. and Nancy Miller Wilson in 1864,
the
In 1917, Timothy O’Neal Wilson received title to 80 acres
of his grandparents’ land. Working with his wife Nellie Lewis and their three
children, Timothy built a farm of 180 acres, which yielded hay, corn and
cotton. The family also raised mules.
Acquiring two different tracts in 1933 and 1951, Clyde N.
Wilson was the next generation to own the family farm. The great grandson of
the founders, he lived in the original two-story frame farmhouse and shared the
land with his children, Donald, Joan, and Daryl. On his 215 acres,