Moore County

            Moore County is the second smallest county in the state and is located in southern Middle Tennessee between Coffee and Lincoln counties. Moore County was established in 1871 and named in honor of General William Moore, who was one of Lincoln County’s first settlers and a long-time member of the General Assembly. Its county seat is Lynchburg, the home of one of the largest and most famous distilleries, the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. Today, the Jack Daniel Distillery is the central tourist attraction in Lynchburg and a primary source of tourism revenue for the county. Moore County has ten Century Farms and the oldest is the Parks Pastures Farm. For more information regarding Moore County, please go to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History & Culture website.

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

Bedford Wiseman Farm

Burt Farm

Chestnut Ridge Farm

Hezekiah Acres Farm

Holt-Elam Farm

Parks Pasture Farm

Rock Creek Farm

Stone-Rives Farm

Syler 7 Farm

Wagoner-Stone Farm


The following map provides a general geographical understanding. It does not provide specific locations of the farms because of privacy reasons.

Map of Moore County

Map courtesy of Carole Swann, Tennessee Department of Agriculture

 

Bedford Wiseman Farm

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 passed away and his ownership of the land passed to his wife Helene and their two children, Horace B. Wiseman and Nancy Wiseman Graham.  Horace and Nancy, along with Stone, inherited Ruby’s acreage at her death in 1978.

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.

 

 

Burt Farm

Butch Burt

In 1875, J. E. Harris established the Burt family farm ten miles northeast of Lynchburg. On his 73 acres, Harris grew row crops and managed a small herd of cattle. The farm’s second generation owner was his daughter, Mary Elizabeth Burt, the spouse of A. R. Burt. Despite the call by twentieth century reformers for new agricultural techniques and crops, the Burts and their seven children made no changes in the farm’s activities.

            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.

 

Chestnut Ridge Farm

Ruth Cochran
Elizabeth Cochran
Lisa Martin Cochran
Nathan Cochran

Chestnut Ridge Farm

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 Chestnut School and the Chestnut Ridge Church of Christ. 

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 Elizabeth “Lib” Bellamy Cochran had one child, Wayne L. Cochran, who was the fifth generation to own the farm. Wayne and his wife Ruth Cochran had two children, Lisa and Nathan.  Today, Ruth and her mother-in-law, Elizabeth, continue to own the farm along with her children. The farm house that was built in 1890, a tenant house, the Chestnut Ridge Church of Christ, and a cemetery are reminders of the long history of this family farm.

Photo: A farmhouse on the Chestnut Ridge Farm.

 

Hezekiah Acres Farm

Bratten Ferrell

            In 1873, Annie and W. A. Nix acquired a 124 acre tract, located six miles north of Lynchburg, and established the Hezekiah Acres Farm. Corn, wheat and oats were the farm’s products. In 1905, Jennie Nix Bennett inherited a portion of the property from her parents and four years later she obtained the remainder from other family heirs. Little is known about the history of the farm during these decades.

            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.

 

Holt-Elam Farm

Dorothy H. Elam

Rudy T. Elam

William Marion Holt

Carol R. Holt

            In 1854, Felix T. Davis purchased 125 acres in what was then Bedford County. He raised cattle, hogs, chickens, hay and tobacco. Felix, who served in the Confederate Army, married Annie Porter Silvertooth, and they had one child, Matilda Angeline.

            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. 

Parks Pastures Farm

Reagor Parks

            In the 4th District of Moore County, just northeast of Lynchburg, is the Parks Pastures Farm. Its history records the remarkable transformations that have taken place in Tennessee agriculture in the last 100 years. B. W. and Mary J. Cooper established the place in 1843 when they purchased 33 acres. The family kept a few milk cows and maintained a garden for their daily food and raised corn, sorghum cane and swine as farm commodities. The Coopers were the parents of six children. Their daughter Bettie Cooper Parks, the wife of Plummer Shofner Parks, was the farm’s second owner. The Parks and their three children did not become a part of the modern age of agriculture until the late 1930s. At that time, the farm acquired electricity, roads were improved and the family cultivated tobacco as a major cash crop.

            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.

 

Rock Creek Farm

Todd F. Jennings

Walter B. Jennings, III

County Line Store with T.S. Holt

For the sum of $207.00, Thomas Shaw Holt purchased a parcel of land north of Lynchburg near the community of County Line in 1893.  Once a part of Bedford County, the name came from its location on the Bedford and Lincoln County lines.   After Moore County was formed in 1871, the community continued to carry its name. During the late nineteenth century, County Line was a small but thriving community with the Tolley and Eaton distillery, a school, two churches, two general stores, a blacksmith shop and a post office.  The Old Shelbyville Turnpike ran through the farm and T. S. Holt operated a general store which also served as a barrel-making factory.  Married to Sarah Tennessee Wiseman, the Holts had one daughter, Tommie Shaw Holt Ervin.

            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 “Victory Gardens.”  Following the war a new barn was built in 1949.  The Holt family was active in the Home Demonstration Club and the County Line Community Club in the 1940s and 1950s.

            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.

 

Stone-Rives Farm

Phil S. Rives

Mary Lou Rives Cox

            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. 

Original House, built around the family's log cabin

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.

Syler 7 Farm

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.

This picture of Margaret "Annie" Ann Smith Syler was published in the local newspaper under the heading, "Moore's First Woman Driver." R. W. Smith family about 1914 on their front porch.  

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.

Photo (left): This picture of Margaret "Annie" Ann Smith Syler was published in the local newspaper under the heading, "Moore's First Woman Driver."

Photo (right): R. W. Smith family about 1914 on their front porch.

Wagoner-Stone Farm

Lisa A. Stone

Barry Stone

Wagoner-Stone Farm; View from the top of the hightest hill on the farm

            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.Wagoner-Stone Farm; Water jug taken to the filed by Felix Wagoner (1863-1933)Wagoner-Stone Farm; tobacco barn built in the early 1940s by Felix Stone. Wings of the barn were added in the 1980s

            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. 

Photo (top): View from the top of the highest hill on the farm.

Photo (right): Water jug taken to the filed by Felix Wagoner (1863-1933).

Photo (left): Tobacco barn built in the early 1940s by Felix Stone. Wings of the barn were added in the 1980s.