Overton County

Overton County was established in 1806 and named in honor of John Overton, a Nashville Judge. Although the county seat was originally Monroe, it was eventually changed to Livingston in 1835 as traffic in Monroe began to decline. Two major industries in the county’s history has been lumbering and coal mining and each of them have provided booms to the county’s economy. The county also has two recreational facilities with Standing Stone State Park and Dale Hollow Lake. Overton County has nineteen Century Farms and the oldest is the Hartsaw Cove Farm that was founded in 1792. For more information regarding Overton County, please go to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History & Culture website.

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

Archibald Qualls Farm

Carmack Farm

Cream Valley Farm

Crawford Farm

Dodson Farm

Full Circle Farms

Gore Farms

Hancock Farm

Hartsaw Cove Farm

Ivy Hill Farm

Jonathan Allred Farm

Ledford Farm

Looper-Thompson Farm

Nettle Carrier Angus Farm

Richardson Holman Place

Standing Stone Farm

Stockton Farm

Wells Farm

Willeford Farm


The following map is for a general geographical understanding. It does not provide the specific locations of the farms because of privacy reasons.
Overton County Map

Map courtesy of Carole Swann, Tennessee Department of Agriculture



Archibald Qualls Farm

Mary Juanella Shea

Lumber House

Located south of Livingston, in the Rickman community, is the 350-acre farm established in 1840 by Archibald Qualls.   The farm land supported wheat, oats, flax, barley, corn, cattle, hogs and horses. Married to Sarah Cannon, the Qualls had sixteen children.  During his ownership, Archibald made several improvements to the farm by building a smoke house, a lumber house and a spring house.

In 1861, their son, Samuel Turney Qualls became the second owner of the farm and operated it for over seventy years.   Married to  Charity Jeanette Bilbery, the couple had ten children.  Their daughter, Lou May Norrod, acquired the farm in 1933. Lou May and her husband, Curtis Norrod farmed the land and grew wheat, oats, soybeans, corn, tobacco, and hay. In addition, they raised cows, horses, mules and sheep. During the 1930s, Lou May and Curtis added more buildings to the landscape with the construction of a tobacco barn, a wash house and a chicken house. While managing the farm, the couple also raised  a large family that included Virgie, Opal, Bill, F.B. , E. C., Johnnie Mae, Georgie, Bennie, Viola, and Mary Juanella.

In 1969, Mary Juanella, the founders’ grant granddaughter, acquired the farm. Today, she and her husband, Dennis Shea, raise cows, tobacco and hay. Their nephew, Tony Kratz, works the land. The farm has many significant outbuildings including a smoke house, a lumber house and a spring house that were constructed by the founder. In addition, a chicken house, and wash house  built in the 1930s still stand today.  The founder and other family members are buried in the Qualls Cemetery.

 

Photo: This lumber house on the Archibald Qualls Farm was built by the founder.

 

Crawford Farm

Barns on the Crawford FarmDorise Crabtree

South of Hilman, William Crawford founded the Crawford Farm in 1824.  He and his wife Margarette had children.  The family raised cattle, corn, horses and pigs. Around 1840, Crawford’s Mill was constructed on Roaring River  by Jesse and Alexander Crawford. In addition to the grist and flour mill, the Crawfords also operated a cotton gin, carding machine, knitting machine and a blacksmith shop. The family explains that “For a time this mill served as a powerhouse and provided electricity to the town of Livingston.”

            In 1888, Maunce Crawford acquired the farm. Along with his wife Agnes Wilson Crawford, the family, which included ten children,  raised cattle, horses, goats, pigs, corn and hay.  In 1939, the farm was  deeded to Bertha Crawford Barnes.

            Today, Bertha’s daughter, Dorise Crabtree is the fifth generation of her family to own the farm. Barbara G. McCloud and Betty J. Winningham are also owners of this property.  Currently, the farm is worked by Lester Green, Dorise’s son-in-law, and produces cattle and hay. 


Photo: Barns on the Crawford Farm.

Carmack Farm

Chester Carmack

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According to the census record of 1860, Reason Ogletree owned an area of 640 acres worth $2000.  On this land, he and his family raised corn, hay, cattle, and chickens.  Married to Ingobyrd [Masters] Ogletree, they had six children, Chester, Golden, Lucy, Millard, Floyd, and Marie.

            D. C. “Chester” Ogletree purchased 160 acres of land from his father.  This acreage began at the forks of the Rushing Branch water of Flat Creek and included half of a spring.  Springs were so important to farm families as they provided fresh water for drinking and household use and were also used as a place to cool and store food.  Chester and his wife Nancy Elizabeth [Bilyue] Ogletree had eleven children and raised cows, corn, hay, tobacco, pigs, chickens, and mules.

            Chester passed the land to his son-in-law, Lloyd Carmack, who in turn passed it to his son, Chester Carmack.  In 1974, Chester and wife, Scarlett, acquired 100 acres of the original farmland of Reason Ogletree.  On this land he raises cattle and hay.  Still living on the farm today are Chester and Scarlett, his brother and sister, Clarence and Cleo, Kineta Carmack and son Tyler, Bobby and Kim [Carmack] Taylor and children Austin, Aleghia Taylor, and Kevin Carmack. A few historic buildings remain on the property including a corn crib dating to the late 1800’s.  A small cemetery is also on the  farm which has some  nineteenth century markers.

Photo:  This is the home of Cleo Carmack, built in 1945.

Cream Valley Farm

Deloy Reeder

 

 

            The Stover family was one of the earliest settlers in Overton County and  branches of the family have carried the name through the decades to the present residents.  In June of 1894, James Stover gave fifty acres north of Livingston “for the love and affection” he had for George B. Stover. George and his wife, Emily Jane Stover, grew tobacco and corn for the family’s livestock. The couple had five children – Ida E. Nettie Lou, Oanner, Flora Elizabeth (Bettie), and Cora Ethel.

            George Stover sold forty-one acres to four men, who of whom was Riddle Stover his son-in-law in 1907.   Riddle was married to George’s daughter, Nettie Lou.  Nettie Lou and Riddle grew tobacco and corn and they had a cow and mules. The couple had one daughter, Nora.

             For $1.00, Nora purchased the Stover property in 1946. As a condition of the transfer, her parents reserved one acre of land to establish a family cemetery. The George B. Stover Cemetery remains in use.  Nora and her husband, L. F. Stover, had eleven children and raised the same crops and livestock as her grandfather and parents.

            Elean, a daughter of Nora and L. F. Stover and a great granddaughter of the founding Stovers, and her husband Deloy Reeder became the owners of a portion of the original fifty acres in 1973.  Here they graze their Registered Jersey cows and grow hay. Three generations live on the farm including the  Reeders, their son and his wife, Keven and Donna, and two of their three children, Rachel and Colby.

             Although no longer in daily use, the family’s old barn still stands. It was “used for shelter for the family milk cows and the mules. [The] old loft…was used for hay storage and a corn crib in the front corner was used for ear corn for the cows and mules.”

            Cream Valley Farm, one of Tennessee’s few remaining Jersey dairy farms, received the Overton County Soil Conservation Farmer of the Year Award in 1999 and was recognized by the Dairy Farmers of America when they received the Gold Standard Award in 2007.

 Photo 1: Barn on the Cream Valley Farm

Photo 2: Cow on the Cream Valley Farm

Dodson Farm

Ken E. Dodson

In 1856, the Rev. Thomas R. Dodson moved from upper east Tennessee to Overton County.  Two years later he purchased a little over 203 acres and began a career as a farmer and merchant.  Dotson raised corn, hay, cattle, sheep, horses and mules and also operated a general store on the property. Thomas was also an active volunteer for the American Bible Society and traveled many miles on horseback each month to distribute Bibles to families and individuals who did not have one of their own.  In 1873, Dodson deeded some of his land for Dodson’s Chapel Church and cemetery. Eventually, he helped build the church and served as its first pastor.  In 1884 the Miranda Tennessee Post Office was established and housed in Dodson’s general store.  The post office was named Miranda after one of his and Martha Johnson Dodson’s daughters. The couple raised a large family on the farm.

            The next generation to own the land was their son, John Larkin Dodson. Married twice, he fathered eight children. During his ownership, the farm produced a variety of  livestock and crops. According to the family, a weekly “trade day” where local farmers gathered to buy and sell livestock was held on the farm.

            Tommie C. Dodson, a son of John Larkin Dodson,  who owned the land until he died in 1962. At that time, the property was divided into 1/3 interests to different heirs.  In 1991 and 1992, the current owner, Ken E. Dodson II, whose father Kenneth Edward Dodson was a son of Tommie Dodson,  purchased 40.8 acres of the farm from two of the three heirs.  Today, Ken, his wife, Gretchen and their daughters, Sydney and Harley, live on the farm which currently produces hay and cattle.  Dodson’s  Chapel still stands as a reminder of the family’s ties and contributions to the community.

 

Full Circle Farms

James H. Young

Brenda Carole Young 

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            Located northeast of Livingston near the Monroe post office, the farm was established in 1885 by James Young. His 150 acres of land included the Cullom house, one of the earliest residences in the county, and was adjacent to the remains of Confederate Camp Myers Zollicoffer. James and his wife, Malissa Beaty, had 11 children, born in both Fentress and Overton counties. They raised corn, tobacco, hay, cattle, pigs, chickens, and household food items.

            In 1924, the daughter of James and Malissa, Nancy Elizabeth, or “Bess”, as she was affectionately called, inherited the family farm. She co-owned the farm with her brother, Robert Hugh, until his death in 1937. Nancy then sold half interest to two of her brothers, George Washington (Wash,) and George Henry. According to the family, Nancy Elizabeth, was remembered as a “strong willed woman” and never married or had children, so the land passed to her brother’s heirs. Wash and his wife, Nola, had four children: Clara Veo, Ida Cleo, Herman Cecil and Howard Estel. During this generation’s ownership, the road from Monroe to Alpine was built though the farm. The house in which Wash and Nola lived was moved from the east side of the road to the west side. The family recalls that two children were born at each location.

            Herman Cecil Young, grandson of the founders, served in the European theater during World War II. On returning home, he and his brother, Howard Estel, purchased the land from their aunt, uncle, and father in 1946 and later divided the property. Cecil and his wife, Esther, bought several buildings located in the flood plain created by the Dale Hollow Dam and used the materials to build their home. Many residents will remember that Cecil Young drove an Overton County school bus from the 1950s through the 1970s and farmed around his bus schedule.

            In 2008, the great-grandson of the founder, James H. Young, became the owner of the property along with his wife, Brenda Carole McDonald Young. James is retired from the Tennessee Valley Authority and currently works at Oak Ridge at the Y-12 Security Complex. He is actively engaged in farm work and is a master beef producer with beef quality assurance certification. His son, Joshua Luther Young, is also involved in the farm’s operations and lives there with his wife, Karie Vettraino, and son, Christian James, the most recent member in the long line of the Young family to call the historic farm home.

Photo: James (the current owner), with grandson Christian, and son Joshua Young,

Gore Farms

In 1870, Francis Marion Gore established a farm located west of Livingston, Tenn. On 150 acres, he cultivated corn and hay and raised cattle, hogs, mules and sheep. Along with wife Sarah Boyd Gore, they had 10 children. Their son, Robert Marion Gore became the next owner of the land and married Hettie Isabell Ray Matthews Gore. The couple had one child, Lester D. Gore.

During Lester’s ownership, he operated his own blacksmith shop and made his own tools to work with on the farm. In the 1930s and 1940s, Lester improved the farm by purchasing a tractor for the farm and building a barn and corncrib.

According to the family, Lester worked with the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service office, now known as the Farm Services Administration-USDA, and helped with progressive farming efforts such as constructing ponds and sewing seeds. As a result of his contributions to American agriculture, he received a certificate of recognition for his work. Upon Lester’s death, the land then passed to Lester’s wife, Lydia, and their three children, Reba A. Flatt, Agnes L. Carr and William Glen Gore.

Bob Gore Farm

The Bob Gore Farm is owned by Agnes Carr, the great-granddaughter of founders Francis Marion and Sarah Boyd Gore. Since 1991, Agnes’ siblings, William Glen Gore and Reba Ann Flatt, have held partial ownership of the land, though Agnes and her husband Earl operate this part of the original Gore Farm. They continue to maintain and use a barn constructed in 1933 and a crib built in 1949 and raise cattle.

 

F. M. Gore Farm

In May of 1991, Lester’s daughter and the great granddaughter of the founder, Reba Gore Flatt acquired 62.3 acres of the original Gore farm.  Today, Reba , her son Dale Flatt, his wife Lydia and their children Wesley and Daniel live on the farm.  Dale, who with his family lives in the old farm house,  is currently clearing more land for cattle. This farm was certified in January of 2006. 

 

Leck Gore Farm

William Glen Gore owns the Leck Gore Farm along with Agnes Carr and Reba Flatt.  William, the great grand son of the founders and his children, Gary, Martha, and Margaret continue the history and traditions of the Gore name. This farm was certified in May of 2006.     

Hancock Farm

Sue Hancock Pope

            The couple who established the Hancock Farm were widely known in Overton County.  Dr. Amos W. Hancock returned from the Civil War and began practicing medicine in the Boone community.  His wife, Ada, was a mid-wife who assisted in many of the births in Boone and the surrounding communities.  In 1894, Hancock purchased 100 acres along the Jamestown Highway where he and Ada and their nine children made their home.  In 1918, their son, John Floyd Hancock, became the next generation to own the land.  John and his wife Eliza raised traditional grains and livestock.  John and Eliza set aside land to establish the Hancock Family Cemetery.

In 1949, the grandson of the founder and the nephew of John Floyd, Major Richard Arlon Jones Hancock acquired the farm. He and his wife Clara Paul Hancock had five children.  The family raised  corn, hay, cattle and swine.

In 2003, Brenda Sue Hancock Pope, Kenneth Hancock, Louise (Smith) Stover, and Alphis (Ray) Smith, great-grandchildren of Amos and Ada, acquired the farm. Today, the acreage is leased to Jackie Young who raises cattle on the property.  A log house with a detached kitchen and a fruit cellar behind the kitchen are reminders of the long history of the Hancock Farm. 

 

 

 

Hartsaw Cove Farm

Millard V. Oakley

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The Hartsaw Cove Farm originated with Gilbert Christian who received a land grant from the State of North Carolina for 1208 acres in 1792 for his service in the Revolutionary War. This was fourteen years before Overton County was established on September 11, 1806.  The second owner of the property was Gilbert’s son, George Christian, Sr. who eventually deeded the land to his son, George Christian, Jr.   The direct descendents of Gilbert Christian retained ownership of the farm, and in 1973 A. E. Christian conveyed the farm to Millard V. Oakley and his brother R. L. Oakley.  The Oakleys are related to the Christian family.  Several members of the Christian family are buried on the farm, including George Christian who was born on March 28, 1789 and died on April 3, 1870. His wife Elizabeth is buried on this plot as is their daughter Eliza Christian who was born in 1810 and died in1882. The slaves of the Christian family were buried on the same plot.

            Today, Millard Oakley and his wife J. Annette Oakley raise cattle on the 1200 acres and a white frame dwelling that was constructed in1902 still stands on the property. The Hartsaw Cove Farm is the oldest certified Century Farm in Overton County.

Photo: Millard Oakley receives a certificate, booklet and letter of congratulations from (Left) Terry Oliver, Deputy Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Agriculture and Governor Phil Bredesen at the Farmland Legacy Conference on October 10, 2008.

 

Ivy Hill Farm

Paula R. Stover

Eva D. Swallows

Sandra Swallows Elliott

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In 1858, the Rev. Thomas Richard Dodson founded a farm southeast of Livingston in what came to be known as Dodson’s Chapel. He and his wife, Martha Ann Johnson, and their nine children had a diverse operation on 203 acres, where they raised cotton, wheat, corn and fodder, cane, tobacco, sheep, cows, horses and alfalfa. 

According to the family’s records, the farm’s founders sided with the Union during the Civil War, and during Reconstruction, in 1872, Dodson donated land to create the Dodson Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church North and a cemetery in which he and his wife and several of their children are now buried. The Rev. Dodson built a general store, which also held the Miranda Post Office from 1885 to 1915. This post office was named after one of his daughters, whose husband served as the first postmaster.

            The Rev. Dodson’s eighth child, Sarah Hannah Catherine “Miranda” Emeline Dodson, married William Stanton Swallows. After her father’s death in 1893, a large portion of his land went to Miranda’s family. Miranda died in childbirth in 1894 and the land went to her husband and their four children.  Along with farming, Williams Swallows served as a justice of the peace for the 1st District and as a Tennessee Legislator, as well as a being a federal census enumerator in 1900 and 1910.

            William and Miranda’s oldest son, Arthur Franklin “Frank” Swallows bought the property from his siblings in 1911. He continued to raise alfalfa, fescue, soy beans, corn, sheep and cattle. He and wife Mary built a new house in 1921 that still stands today. Frank gave land to build the new Ivy Hill School in 1921, which served the community until 1938. He also built a new barn with his son, Ray, in 1942. 

Ray and his wife, Eva, were married in 1940 and they remodeled the school house as their home. During the 1950s, Eva was a member of the Overton County Home Demonstration Club and some of the items she made are kept within the family. Ray and Eva’s daughter were member of 4-H and won awards for sewing and cooking. Per the farm’s owners, the Swallows and Stover families “always had many entries in the Overton County Agricultural Fair.” 

Active in his community, Ray served as a board member for the Overton County Farm Bureau from 1990 to 2002.  He was also a member of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars and was an honor guard for more than 800 funerals.  Ray died in 2004.

            The current owners of the family farm are Paula Swallows Stover, Sandra Swallows Elliott and Eva D. Swallows. Paula is the great-great-granddaughter of the Rev. and Mrs. Thomas Richard Dodson. The family grows soy beans, alfalfa, wheat and corn, along with sheep, hogs, chickens and turkeys, on 96 acres of the original land. The family still uses the house and barn built by William.

            Ivy Hill is part of the Upper Cumberland Quilt Trail and Paul Stover has two pieces of artwork on her barn—one is the “Eight-Point Star” and the other is the “Tree of Life.” These were the first two quilt-barn paintings in Overton County. Since putting up her two ‘quilts’ Paula has received a grant to help others in her area create their own quilt barns throughout the 14 counties of the Upper Cumberland. 

Photo: The Ivy Hill Farm's barn displays the "Tree of Life" quilt that is part of the Upper Cumberland Quilt Trail.

 

Jonathan Allred Farm

James M. Allred

In 1831, Jonathan Allred established a farm southeast of Livingston on the Obey River.  Married to Nancy Walker Allred, the couple had five children --Robert, Bailey, Charles, John and Jonathan.   On 163 acres, the family produced cattle, chickens and corn.

            Bailey Allred became the second generation to own the farm. The family believes that the farm may have been given to Bailey and his wife Sarah Copeland Allred as a wedding gift.  The couple had ten children and two of their sons, Larkin and Jonathan A. Allred became the next owners of the land. Under the brothers’ ownership, the farm increased to over 3,000 acres.

Jonathan’s son, Bailey Frederic Allred was the fourth owner. In addition to managing the farm, Bailey was as a teacher in the community as was his father and grandfather.  Bailey’s children became the fifth generation owners of the farm, though one of the children, James Lowell Allred acquired the property in the 1950s. In 1986, James Michael Allred and Jane Mynatt obtained the land.

Today, the founder’s great great great grandson, James M. Allred owns the farm and raises cattle, chickens and hay. Married to  Martha Burnette Allred, the couple are the parents of  Mike and Joe Allred.  Over the years, the Allreds have participated in agricultural organizations such as the Farm Bureau the Home Demonstration Club.   Allred was honored as Overton County’s Conservation Farmer of the Year in 2000.

Ledford Farm

Keith Ledford

The Alpine community of Overton County was home to former Tennessee governor Albert H. Roberts.  Roberts was instrumental in passing the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.  He performed the marriage ceremony for Alvin C. York and Gracie Williams in Pall Mall in 1919.  Near the Westfork area of the Alpine community is the Ledford Farm which also had to rely on census records to prove its founding.  The 1860 census  shows William Ledford with real estate valued at $1000.00 in District 10 of Overton County. He was married to Elizabeth [Hill] Ledford and they had three children, Sarah, John, and Nancy.  In 1911, the property was auctioned but was bought by  Thomas Ledford, William’s grandson, for $105.00.   In 1938, the land went to Verlie Ledford.  Her son, Keith, acquired the land in August of 1973.  Over forty years later, Keith Ledford, the great great grandson of the founders, raises hay and cattle on the farm that has been in his family for at least 150 years.

Looper-Thompson Farm

Jim Thompson

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Census records show that Joseph Looper established a farm sometime in or before 1830.  His family fled to the United States from France in search of religious freedom.  They were Hugenots. or French Protestants, who followed the teachings of John Calvin.  Joseph Looper was introduced to Overton County on hunting trips with Joseph ‘Big Joe’ Copeland.

After Joseph’s death in 1858, his final orders through his last will and testament, dated April, 1848, were read.  His land and ‘one negro boy named Ammon’ went to his four sons along with various farm equipment and hogs.  His three daughters were given all his household furniture.  He also writes in his will, “I do emancipate and set free the residue of my negroes Joseph, Julia, and her three children, Emily, Joseph, and Ibby. . . I furthermore nominate and appoint my said Executor John T. Miller as agent to take charge and care of my said negroes immediately after the decease of myself and wife to convey them to the most convenient point in the United States where my said negroes can get a safe voyage to Liberia or some of the African regions that will receive them as free people.”  It was contested and eventually reached the supreme court when the slaves were freed and listed as such on the 1860 census.

            William Looper became the second generation owner in 1858, just three years before the Civil War began.  A nephew of William, Andrew J. Looper, was killed just seven months after enlisting with the 25th TN Infantry of the Confederacy.  He was fifteen years old at the time of his death.  To protect their food and supplies during the Civil War, the family was forced to hide them in a nearby cave.  Samuel Looper, the third owner of the farm, was once ordered by raiders to give them all of his money or they would kill him.  He did not want to give it up but his wife, who had the money on her, gave it to the raiders to save their lives.

            After Samuel, the land passed to Joseph Freemont Looper in 1889.  During this time, water came from a spring 1000 yards away from the house.  Before the use of metal irrigation pipes, Joseph used a cedar pole to channel water to the house.  Each pole was tapered into the next so that there would be minimal leaking from pole to pole.

            After 62 years, the land passed to the next generation, Haskell and Dorothy Looper, in 1951.  Besides streams and caves, there is a coal mine located on the farm that was used by the blacksmith shop.  Although there was not a surplus of coal, there was enough to support the needs of the Looper family. 

            Haskell and Dorothy passed the farm to their daughter, Beulah Mae Thompson in June of 1982. She then passed it on to her son, Jim Thompson, in 2004.  Jim owns 218 acres of the original farm of Joseph Looper.  On his family’s land, he raises hay and cattle. The house built in 1900 still stands and uses the front door from the original log cabin.  Jim has learned about his family’s long history through accounts from older generations of family and neighbors.  

Photo:  Jim Thompson in the cemetery on his land.

Nettle Carrier Angus Farm

Clifton D. Allred

Mary Lee Allred

Lucy Newberry

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One of the few Century Farms in Tennessee to be founded by a woman, the Nettle Carrier Angus farm dates to Nancy Jane Booher.  This farm lies along the Nettle Carrier Creek, named for the Native American chief who inhabited the area in the early 1800s, also in the West Fork area near Alpine.   She owned the farm earlier than 1908 when she sold  40 acres to her granddaughter, Ada Mae Newberry and husband Thomas.  According to the family, “Ada Mae and Thomas E. Newberry kept the farm going and lived good.”  After his wife died in 1930, Thomas continued to work the farm and raised their son, Clifton, “C. D.”  Life continued to improve on the farm.  Doyle Allred, the current owner says, “In my opinion, that is what people do when things get rough, they carry on.  That is a farmer and an American tradition.”

C. D. married Lucy and had one daughter, Mary Lee.  C. D. expanded the farm to eventually include 300 acres and added two chicken houses, more cattle, and tobacco.  In 1994, after his grandson, Doyle, returned from serving in the U. S. Army, they purchased the farm’s first round hay bailer.   Doyle says, “That was a big step up into the future and modern farming.”

Doyle Allred is the current owner and is active in the farm operations as he has been his entire life.  With the help of Rodney Hargis, he raises cattle, hay, tobacco, and corn.  His mother Mary Lee and grandmother Lucy continue to make their home on the family farm founded by another woman at the turn of the twentieth century.

Photo: V. T. Booher , the founder, with wife  Gertrude and daughter Addie.

Richardson Holman Place

Lester D. Holman

            In 1859, David Richardson purchased 157 acres in the Ozone Community of Overton County, paying around $1.81 per acre. David and his wife, Sarah Sells Richardson, were the parents of 10 children. One of their sons, Peter, later acquired the 157 acres from his parents. Peter and his wife, Melvina Sells, were the parents of nine children. Their son, James Logan Richardson, purchased the farm from his parents in 1902, and for nearly 50 years “Uncle Jim” worked the farm. 

            In 1956, Jim Logan Richardson’s brother, David, purchased the property.  He married Nannie Hensley, and the couple had seven children. David, Nannie and their family lived across the creek from her sister and brother-in-law, Lucy and Floyd Holman, and their eight children. The families were very close, and the first cousins attended Ozone School together.

            In 1972, Lester C. Holman, a son of Lucy and Floyd Holman and a descendant of David Leander Sells, the brother of farm matriarch Sarah Sells Richardson, purchased the farm from the Richardson heirs, who were also his cousins. Lester and his wife, Willodean, and their sons, Ronnie and Donnie, worked hard to improve the farm, fence the land and raise cattle.  

            Donnie Holman purchased the farm in 2007 and added another 47 acres of land that originally belonged to founders David and Sarah Richardson in 2009.  Donnie says he is particularly pleased to own this property because his great-grandmother, Rebecca Jane Sells Holman, and her three daughters moved to this parcel, called “The Ridge,” in 1915. Donnie’s father, Lester C. Holman, was born in the farmhouse where his grandmother and three aunts were living. Donnie recounts that his aunts were greatly admired by family and neighbors and were “humble and hardworking ladies” who “continually stressed the importance of family and clean living.” The last aunt, Estie, died in 2003 at age 102. 

            Donnie Holman, who is married to Paula Byerley, raises cattle and hay on this land that has been farmed by generations of the men and women of his family since before the Civil War. 

Photo (Clockwise): Peter Richardson and wife Melvina {Sells} Richardson 2nd owners, James “Jim” Richardson son of Peter and Melvina who is 3rd owner, Nannie {Hensley} Richardson and David S. Richardson son of Peter and Melvina 4th owners, Lester Carl Holman 5th owner and Aunt Estie {Holman} Newberry, Estie Caroline Holman and Lester Grant Holman future owners and namesakes of ancestors.

 

 

Standing Stone Farm

Cathy W. Sullivan

Rose Ward Parrott

G. Frank Ward

            In 1797, Dr. Moses Fisk moved into Jackson County and established the settlement of Hilham.  In 1806, Overton County was carved out of Jackson County.  In that same year Fisk established a Female Academy at Hilham which was one of the first in the south.  In 1896, Turner Mike (T.M.) Upton purchased about 57 acres from Ormel Fisk, the son of Moses and Nancy Fisk.

Founder Turner Mike & Martha  Upton  Family

            Married to Martha Ann Daugherty, the couple had eleven children which they reared in a two-story log and frame house. The family grew a large vegetable garden, produced produced Irish and sweet potatoes, raised milk cows, cattle, swine, and poultry. They also had oxen and horses for farm work. Martha died in 1917 and T. M. died in 1927.  Both are buried in the Fisk Cemetery. The farm was left to their children and spouses. 

            In 1928, Laura Upton War and her husband, Grover C. Ward purchased the farm from the heirs as it joined their farm to the south.  Grover was a druggist and owned Ward Drug Co. in Hilham.  He was also  partner in the Ward and Upton Dry Goods and General Store.  A rolling store travelled throughout the county weekly, stopping at homes and communities.   Laura enjoyed working the garden and orchard and also raised poultry for eggs and for feathers which she cleaned for pillows and bedding. Their four children, Buell, Ozella, Leonard, and Olean, graduated from Fisk Academy and the three daughters also graduated from Tennessee Polytechnic Institute in Cookeville.  In the mid-1930s, land was purchased and workers in the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps began construction on buildings and roads in nearby Standing Stone State Park and Forest. 

            In 1938, Leonard Ward and Mary Evelyn Craft were married.  They moved to the farm and lived in the house built by T.M. Upton.  They had both attended Fisk Academy and were active in the alumni organization as well as other community and church groups. In 1943, they began remodeling the old house. Now wired for electricity, a new stove, iron and refrigerator (used until 1980) made such a difference in everyday life. By 1949, a new range and washing machine were added.

            When Grover Ward died in 1950, the pharmacy closed though the store remained open for a few years.  Leonard and Evelyn both worked at the store and they raised five children.  After Laura’s death in 1958, Leonard and Evelyn purchased the farm from the heirs and farmed his land and that of other farmers to help pay for new equipment.  He also drove from 7-Up bottling Company and worked in road construction.  He was elected to the county court for 18 years and was a member of the county board of education. Evelyn worked for the Livingston Shirt Factory for 37 years.  In 1988, their children, family and friends helped Leonard and Evelyn celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary.

            The five children of Leonard and Evelyn-- Rose, Cathy, Frank, Judy and Jennie -- became the owners of the farm in 1999. The farm is used primarily for hay production. 

Photo (top): Founder Turner Mike & Martha Upton their family.

Photo (bottom): Original log barn still on the property.

 

 

Stockton Farm

Mayme Swallows

Located in the Rickman community, the Stockton Farm , over 150 years old,  is one of many Century Farms that generations of women have owned and operated.   In 1851, William Cannon founded the 236 acre farm and he and his wife Eliza Jane Copeland Carr Cannon raised corn, cattle and hay.  In 1906, Rebecca “Willie” Stockton, the step daughter of the founder and daughter of Eliza, acquired the farm. She and her husband Joseph Allison Stockton raised hay, cattle and tobacco.  About 20 acres were in wetlands.  The couple’s  had two daughters, Lizzie Sara Stockton Verble and Mayme Stockton Davis, acquired the farm in 1947.  The Stockton sisters, along with their husbands Walter Verble and Chester Davis, raised hay, cattle, and tobacco. 

In 1979, the great granddaughter of Eliza Cannon, Mayme Catherine Swallows became the owner of the farm. She reports that thee farmhouse built prior to the Civil War and a 1929 barn are part of the 225 acres farm on which cattle and hay are raised.  The family has a wonderful collection of photographs including one picturing Eliza and her daughter Willie and granddaughters.  A rare photograph pictures Eliza by the open coffin of her husband, farm founder William Cannon. 

Wells Farm

Howard & Betty Wells

Also over 150 years old is the Wells Farm which dates to 1852 when James Gilliland established a farm of about  347 acres.  During the Civil War,  Gilliland operated a general store that was a hub of activity and commerce for the surrounding area.  The family reports that the store carried a wide variety of merchandise including hardware, dry goods, groceries, tools and even coffins and burial clothes. Many of these items were brought up from Nashville by wagons while other items were shipped to points on the Cumberland River. James and his wife Lillie Ann Davis Gilliland had twelve children. In 1880, Lillie Ann sold eight acres for the construction of the  “Oak Hill Institute” which opened in 1882,  became an early public school, and is the Oak Hill Methodist Church today.

Elihu Wells, the husband of Bithiah, one of the  Gilliland’s daughters, became the next owner of the farm in 1881.  The couple raised seven children on the land given to them by her father.  Elihu also served as the rural mail carrier and taught school at the Oak Hill Institute.  Moody Wells, born during the Civil War and one of Elihu and Lillie’s eight children, became the third generation owner in 1899.  Like his father, Moody was the rural mail carrier and  a teacher at Oak Hill.  Moody and his wife Martha Ann Pugh had four children.  In 1934, Martha was deeded the property by her husband Moody before his death in 1938. She continued to live on the farm and her two sons Herman and Rupert raised cattle and hay.  After Martha’s death in 1956,   Herman acquired the farm.  Along with his wife Mildred Maynard Wells and their four children, they raised cattle and hay. Besides managing the farm, Herman continued the family tradition by teaching school and also operating a general store in the Oak Hill community.

Herman’s son Howard Wells became the sixth generation owner in 1958. Howard and his wife Betty Little Wells make their home on the farm where they raised their two children, Bryan and Stephanie Wells Norris who now have families of their own.   Howard is a rural mail carrier and served for twenty-five years on the Overton County Farm Bureau Board and the Overton County Co-op board.  Betty is retired after teaching kindergarten for 25 years at Rickman Elementary School   Howard and Bryan raise hay, corn, sileage, beef cattle and sell feeder calves.  Education, community service, and farming are traditions of long standing in the Wells family.

 

Willeford Farm

Gerald C. Willeford

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Located south of Hilham is the Willeford Farm.  Founded by William Leslie Willeford just over a century ago in July of 1909, the 51 acres were used to raise a garden, hogs, corn, hay, mules, and milk cows.  He and his wife, Roxie Mae moved to the property along with their oldest daughter, Norma Ester.  They had two more children, Charles and Clara.  According to the family, “Life was very difficult to say the least in rural Overton County.  Farming was more or less just making ends meet. . . Farm life was very different from our life 101 years later.” Aside from farming, William taught elementary school from 1900 to 1913. Copies of his contract are still in the family’s possession today.  He was also elected as an Overton County Road Supervisor and served as a county committee member of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration.

            After nearly fifty years of being owned by William, the land went to his only son Charles.  He and his wife Alva Irene [Brown] and son Gerald raised registered Polled Hereford for breeding stock.  As per the family, “Most Overton County beef herds were Angus and farmers wanted Hereford bulls.”  They averaged a herd of twenty.  Charles, a progressive farmer, made improvements on the land through the use of USDA practices.  Three small ponds were added on rented lands.  Charles, a graduate of Fiske Academy, was a salesman as well as a farmer and served on the Overton County Board of Education for sixteen years of which he was chairmen for several years.   He was delighted to take “part in the annual high school homecoming” at Fiske Academy.

            Gerald Willeford has been the owner of the Willeford Farm since 2003.  He and his wife, Rhonda, have two sons, John and Wesley.  Gerald is the first in the family to be a college graduate with a degree in Agriculture. Son, Wesley, is also a co-owner of the farm and is currently attending U. T. Medical School in Memphis.  Gerald, a part time farmer, runs the cow and calf operation and raises hay.  

Photo: William Leslie Willeford, founder of the Willeford Farm.