For a brief historical sketch of each farm, click on the farm name.
Helene W. Lusty
In 1904, S. E. Bedford established a farm of 65 acres where he
raised cattle, corn and hay. His daughter, Ruby Bedford and her husband C. S.
Wiseman., acquired the property in 1918.
Stone and Bedford Wiseman were their sons and helped the family raise
cattle and corn primarily. The family
recalls that people came to vacation near the spring that was the only source
of water on the farm. From here, water
was pumped to the house and for the livestock. Thirteen stone steps lead down
to the spring house. In the winter, the
whole neighborhood gathered at the Wiseman’s to butcher hogs and process the
pork. C. S. Wiseman passed away in
1958 and left his interest to his sons and his wife, Ruby. In 1968,
Bedford Wiseman’s widow, Helene, now married to Stuart M. Lusty,
manages the land with the help of her cousin, Billy McGee, and raises cattle
and hay. The spring house, now over
eighty years old, still covers the water source that remains an important part
of this farm.
Butch Burt
In
1875, J. E. Harris established the Burt family farm ten miles northeast of
Edward D. Burt, the great grandson of J. E. Harris, acquired
55 acres of family land in 1975. After Edward died, his wife sold some of the
property and moved away. However, Butch Burt, Edward’s son, owns some of the
acreage today.
Ruth Cochran
Elizabeth Cochran
Lisa Martin Cochran
Nathan Cochran
During the mid-nineteenth century, John R. Bagley founded the
Chestnut Ridge Farm. John and his wife Martha Elizabeth Driver Bagley had eight
children. In 1851, their son-in-law, James Asberry Prosser, married to their
daughter Rebecca, became the owner of
the land. On 180 acres of land, the Prossers raised mules, horses, cows, corn
and tobacco. In addition to farming, the Prossers helped with the development
of the surrounding community by giving land to build the
John J., one of the Prosser’s eight children, acquired the farm in
1885. John and his wife Della Bell Brents cultivated crops such as corn,
tobacco, hay, wheat, Irish potatoes, fruits, pumpkins and lumber. They also
raised cattle, hogs, chickens, sheep, mules and horses. A house was built in 1890 and a barn in
1903. Gas lighting was installed in 1910
and the system and fixtures are still intact.
After John’s death in 1946, Della operated the farm for 27 years until
her own death in 1973. John and Della
had no children, so the property was willed to his nephews and nieces. Eventually, his nephew Henard O. Cochran
bought out his cousins and became the sole owner of the farm.
Henard and his wife
Photo: A
farmhouse on the Chestnut Ridge Farm.
Bratten Ferrell
In 1873, Annie and W. A. Nix acquired a 124 acre
tract, located six miles north of
In 1959, Frances Bennett Ferrell obtained 40 acres of the
family land. The great great granddaughter of the founders, Frances is the
spouse of Bratten Ferrell and the mother of two boys. The Ferrells raise Angus
cattle and grow tobacco and the family lives in the farm’s original dwelling
that dates to the 1870s.
Dorothy H. Elam
Rudy T. Elam
William Marion Holt
Carol R. Holt
In 1878, the farm was conveyed to Matilda Angeline. Matilda married James
Lafayette Holt and they were the parents of 11 children, including Will T., the
grandfather of the current family owners. The Holts raised chickens, hogs, hay,
tobacco and corn.
In 1904, the farm was conveyed by the heirs to John Addison Holt, a grandson of
the founders, in gratitude for the care he gave to his grandmother Annie, in her
later years following the death of his mother, Matilda. John and his wife, Sonie
Dillingham, raised horses, chickens, pigs and a vegetable garden. They had no
children.
Marion C. Holt, a great-grandson of the founders, acquired the property in 1939.
Marion raised tobacco and pigs on the farm and also acquired 75 adjoining acres.
Marion’s brother, Seaborn W. Holt, was a World War II veteran and also helped on
the farm. Marion married Mary Darden, and they were the parents of four
children.
Dorothy Holt Elam and William M. Holt, two of the children of Marion and Mary
Holt, and their spouses, Rudy T. Elam and Carol Russell, respectively, acquired
the farm of 125 acres in 1980. Dorothy and Rudy have lived on the farm
since 1982. Rudy Elam and William Holt operate and work the farm, where they
raise cattle and hogs.
Reagor Parks
In the 4th District of Moore County, just
northeast of
In 1951, Reagor Parks, the grandson of the founders,
inherited one-third of the farm from his parents and purchased the remainder
from his brother and sister. Currently working approximately 264 acres, Reagor
specializes “in raising replacement heifers for dairies” and produces “as much
pasture and hay as possible.” Parks Pastures Farm is a modern agricultural
operation. Indeed, according to the family, “the biggest change for this period
has been the change from mules to tractors. The hills are no longer used for
row crops (since) erosion can be controlled much better with (the fields) sown
in grass for pasture.”
The farm’s mid-nineteenth century barn once contained a huge loft and mule stables, but Reagor has “remodeled again, doing away with the mule stables and the loft, making it into a livestock working facility.” The barn gives the farm added significance because its changing appearance and use mirrors the history of Parks Pastures.
Todd F. Jennings
Walter B. Jennings, III
For the sum of $207.00, Thomas
Shaw Holt purchased a parcel of land north of
In 1942, Tommie became the second
generation to own the property. During her ownership, the farm supported
cattle, mules, tobacco, corn and cotton. Tommie was married to Walden Jackson
“Jack” Ervin and their children were Guy
Holt, Horace William, Sarah Nell, and Mary Walden. During World War II, the family grew “
Guy Ervin and his wife Mary Louise
Owens Ervin, the next generation to live and work on the farm, produced cattle,
mules and horses. They donated ½ acre of land for the construction of the
County Line Church of Christ.
In 2005, the grandchildren of Guy and Louise Ervin, Todd F. and Walter B. Jennings III, sons of Buford and Nancy Ervin Jennings, acquired the property from their grandmother. Todd and Walter, along with their father, are involved in the farm’s management and operation. They raise cattle and hay and continue to use the 1949 barn.
Photo: Tom Shaw Holt operated this general store in the County Line community in the late nineteenth century.
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In October of 1900, John
Stone, a Moore County magistrate, purchased a farm in Moore County between
Shelbyville and Lynchburg. He raised
corn, wheat, tobacco, cattle, hogs and sheep on his 130.4 acre farm.
Married to Lula Ervin, they were the parents of
Lillis Stone Frost, Horace Stone, John T.
Stone and Ann Stone Rives.
In 1952, Ann Stone Rives, and her husband, Floyd Rives, acquired the farm. They raised livestock such as cattle, horses, sheep and hogs as well as hay, corn and tobacco on the farm. In addition to their farming activities, Floyd served as a magistrate and Ann taught math at Moore County High School. The family was involved in the Booneville Community Club, the Home Demonstration Club, 4-H, F.F.A. and F.H.A. Floyd and Ann were the parents of two children, Phil Stone Rives and Mary Lou Rives Cox.
In 1993, Phil Rives and Mary Lou Cox acquired the family farm. Phil and Mary Lou actively run the farm of 394 acres which supports tobacco, cattle and hay. Phil owns and lives on a nearby farm where he runs 150 head of cattle. Several original buildings remain on the Stone-Rives Farm, including a barn built in the early 1900s which retains its original tin roof and the farm house which began as a log cabin and to which rooms were added over the years.
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Photo (top): Landscape view of Stone-Rive Farms with cattle in background.
Photo (middle right): The present owners of Stone-Rives Farms, Mary Lou Rives Cox and Phil Rives.
Photo (bottom left): Original Barn with original roof, built around 1905.
Photo (bottom right): Original House, built around the family's log cabin.
Roy Clayton and Maggie Syler
In 1903, R. W. Smith purchased 133 acres in the Hurdlow Community south of Lynchburg, Tennessee. He and his wife Molly Crabtree had six children – John, Reed, George, Bernice, Annie, and William. The family raised livestock as well as corn, wheat, and vegetables. They butchered hogs and had chickens for meat eggs, and had milk cows. When it was time to harvest the wheat, a thresher came to the farm. At the age of fourteen, Annie learned how to drive a traction engine used to move the wheat separator through the fields. Two years later, she became Moore County’s first female to drive an automobile when her family purchased a new 1914 Ford touring model. The Smiths became the second family on Farris Creek to own an automobile; they purchased it from Will K. Parks, the Ford Agent in Lynchburg.
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After R.W. passed away, Molly received a life estate to the land but when she died it was sold at auction. Annie’s son and daughter-in-law, Roy Clayton and Maggie J. Syler purchased the farm on July 30, 1960 so that the farm would not go out of the family. They have five children – Kerry, Rodney, Rickey, Craig, and Tanya – and grow tobacco, corn, hay, and garden. The Sylers also raise dairy and beef cows, hogs, and horses. Occasionally, their bottom land floods where it joins the Elk River. Today, they own a total of 260 acres and work the farm with their son Craig and his daughter, Shaynee. The farm is named for the Sylers and their five children.
Lisa A. Stone
Barry Stone
Fredrick Wagoner and his bride, Mary, who he
had married in 1817, moved west from Johnson County Tennessee, in 1818 to take
up residence on a land grant in Lincoln County (it would become Moore County in
1871). Eventually, he would receive
three land grants and he also purchased over 1300 acres. The Wagoners had 14
children and their descendants have subsequently owned
property along the Buckeye for generations..JPG)
Records indicate that Andrew Wagoner inherited or purchased part of the property but died shortly after his father. His son, Felix, or Feek, acquired about 180 acres in 1885. He and his wife, Fannie Jerusha Jacobs, and their children, Elijah and Maggie raised their food and grains for their livestock. Maggie Jane inherited her parents’ farm and with her husband, Jim Stone, and their nine children, they raised cattle, sheep, and tobacco.
Siblings, Hattie Lee and J. E. Stone were the
next owners of the farm. As they had
no children, Paul Stone, their nephew, acquired the property in 1980.
Today, his children Lisa and Barry Stone are the owners of the property.
Lisa makes her home on the farm and Barry raises cattle on the land that
has been in their family for 194 years.