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.
Map courtesy of Carole Swann, Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Archibald Qualls Farm
Mary Juanella Shea
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
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 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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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.
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
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.