Mary Juanella Shea
Located south of
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
Photo:
This lumber house on the Archibald Qualls Farm was built by the founder.
Dorise 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
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.
Ken E. Dodson
In 1856, the Rev. Thomas R. Dodson moved from upper east
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.
In 1870, Francis Marion Gore established
a farm located west of
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,
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
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.
Sue Hancock Pope
The couple who established the Hancock Farm were widely
known in
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
Millard V. Oakley
The Hartsaw Cove Farm originated with Gilbert Christian who
received a land grant from the State of
Today, Millard Oakley and his wife J. Annette Oakley raise cattle
on the
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.
Paula R. Stover
Eva D. Swallows
Sandra Swallows Elliott
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.
James M. Allred
In 1831, Jonathan Allred established a farm southeast of
Livingston on the
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
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
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.
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
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