Polk County

Polk County is located on the southeastern corner of Tennessee and is bordered by North Carolina and Georgia. The county was established in 1839 and named in honor of Governor and President James K. Polk and the county seat is Benton. One of the prominent industries in the history of the county has been copper mining that was first discovered at Ducktown in 1843. As a result of  the copper mining, vegetation was killed for miles near the sites and left the landscape open to erosion. In addition to copper mining, the county has three hydroelectric plants on the Ocoee River and one on the Hiwassee River that are operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Polk County has eight Century Farms and the oldest is the Boyd Farm that was established in 1838. For more information regarding Polk County, please go to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History & Culture website.

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

Boyd Farm

Carter Farm

Lillard's Branch Farm

Linder Farm

Rogers Farm

Taylors' Farm

Webb Brothers Farm

Willis Springs 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

Boyd Farm

Leta Boyd

            The Boyd Farm is associated with several events in the nineteenth century economic development of Polk County. Located southeast of Charleston, the Boyd Farm began as one of Polk County’s largest. Its founders, Erby and Jensey Cooper Boyd, acquired 4,000 acres in 1838. In addition to tilling the land, the family operated a flour mill and dam on the Ocoee River and a carding mill on Turtle Creek near Ducktown. Erby Boyd was also a local Polk County government official and the father of seven children.

            At an unknown date, Erby and Jensey’s son Thomas J. Boyd acquired title to approximately 385 acres of the farm. Thomas, his wife Lizzie Lea and their four sons raised cattle, chickens, corn, hay and small grains. In 1889, Thomas deeded 195 acres to his son Thomas Lea Boyd. The younger Thomas was a blacksmith, who operated a steam-powered threshing machine, built wagons for local farmers and served as an amateur veterinarian. His wife was Edna Julian.

            Frank Boyd, one of Thomas and Edna’s two sons, received 114 acres of the farm in 1963. Currently, his widow Leta Boyd and son Robert work the land, which yields corn, hay, cattle and chickens. Mrs. Boyd lives in the farmhouse constructed by Thomas Lea Boyd in 1890.

Carter Farm

Wanda K. Carter

            Upon acquiring 42 acres of land in 1875, Rachael Calhoun Carter and her husband Monroe Carter established the Carter Farm six miles north of Benton. The Carters and their nine children planted corn, cotton and hay. These same crops were the agricultural commodities of the second generation owner, Jordan C. Carter. Married to Mary Yates, Jordan fathered five children.

            In 1972, Jordan F. Carter inherited his great grandmother’s property to which he added 593 acres of land. He managed the farm’s output of corn, wheat and hay while David Foote Daries worked the land. Today, Wanda K Carter owns the farm.

Lillard’s Branch Farm

Adeline G. Lillard and Wallace L. Lillard

            Abraham and Jane Harrison Lillard founded the Lillard’s Branch Farm in 1839. Located four miles northeast of Benton, the farm’s 160 acres produced the general crops and livestock of the time. Abraham was a community leader, serving as a county trustee and on the county board of education. The father of thirteen children, Abraham lived in the region as early as 1835.

            Abraham and Jane Lillard’s land passed into the hands of their eighth child, Abraham Lillard, II, who continued to farm the land for most of the nineteenth century. His son, John Monroe Lillard, was the property’s third generation owner. John and his wife Lizzie Love altered the farm’s products to reflect the diversity demanded by the twentieth century marketplace. They grew corn, wheat, hay and peach trees and bred cattle and swine. In 1953, John willed 133 acres to his son Wallace, who is the founders’ great grandson. Today, Wallace rents a portion of his land to William and Ralph Green who harvest wheat, corn, hay and soybeans. That the farm’s 1844 residence is still in use is a source of great family pride.

Photo: Farm house and barn on the Lillard's Branch Farm.

Linder Farm

Wilma Lindner Garren

            For well over 100 years, the Linder family has made major contributions to public education in Polk County. Like several other Century Farms, the Linder Farm dates to the Reconstruction era when Frederick E. and Caroline Bechle Linder purchased 400 acres located one and a half miles northeast of Reliance in 1867. Fredrick, the one-time chairman of the Polk County Court, also served as county court clerk and on the county school board. His farming activities were varied, including the cultivation of corn, wheat, fruit and timber and the breeding of livestock. He and Caroline were the parents of eight children and their son Fredrick B. Linder was the property’s second generation owner. Little in the farm’s operations changed during this period of ownership. Fredrick married Amanda Gurley and they had three sons.

            At Fredrick’s death in 1932, the farm’s was split between Chester and Arless Linder, with each brother inheriting 200 acres. Chester planted the farm’s first tobacco seedlings and operated the farm for the next forty years. In 1972, the property passed into the hands of his wife Josephine Burchfiel Lindner and their three children. They are the farm’s current operators and produce timber and garden vegetables on their 200 acres.

            The Lindner Farm, which retains its original log residence and barn, is also a community center for education. Here the Fort Loudon Regional Library maintains a bookmobile station library, used by families throughout the Reliance area.

Rogers Farm

Roscoe G. Rogers

            The contribution of improved highway transportation to the modern success of Tennessee agriculture is well illustrated in the twentieth century development of the Rogers Century Farm. Jesse and Dorinda A. Rymer established the Rogers Farm, which is four miles southeast of Benton, in 1861. The following year, Jesse left the farm to serve in the 62^nd Tennessee Regiment of the Confederate army. After returning from the war, Jesse began farming on his 250 acres of land. But in 1867, he became a freighter to the Ducktown copper mines and continued this business for the next twelve years. Throughout these years, Dorinda kept the farm in operation, producing corn, wheat, rye, sugar cane and cotton.

            In 1893, Minerva Rymer Fetzer inherited the farm from her parents. Minerva was the wife of Harve A. Fetzer and the mother of eight children. Bridge and road construction marked this period of ownership; in 1912, a bridge over the Ocoee River was built on the Fetzer’s farm and local roads were re-routed to provide better access to the new bridge. About 27 years later, state officials constructed Highway 64, which now constitutes the farm’s southern boundary and built a new bridge. The improved transportation allowed the family to sell their agricultural products in larger markets, which perhaps accounts for the family’s decision to add sheep and swine to their livestock herds.

            In 1944, Blanche Fetzer Rogers acquired the family land. The great granddaughter of the founders, Blanche is the wife of Roscoe G. Rogers. The Rogers have improved the farm by constructing two ponds, building a new home and barn in 1952 and restoring a tenant house in 1970. Almost all of their 44 acres are in production and the family raises beef cattle, garden vegetables and fruits.

Taylors’ Farm

Blanch Taylor
Dotty Taylor
Gussie Taylor Smith

            Taylors’ Farm began in 1839 when James and Nancy Barr Taylor moved from Virginia to homestead in Tennessee. They acquired 205 acres approximately two miles south of Benton. The Taylors, who were the parents of four children, initially lived in a log cabin left on the property by the Cherokee Indians.

            After the Civil War, the farm passed into the hands of Elizabeth, James and John Taylor, but John acquired his brother’s and sister’s land and assumed full control of the property. He raised corn, cattle and swine on the land. Wed to Mary Lillard, John involved himself in local businesses and served as one of the first directors of the Benton Baking Company.

            In 1937, the female grandchildren of the founders, Blanch, Dotty and Gussie Taylor, acquired the farm. As of 1976, the sisters still lived on the property and Chester Smith, Gussie’s husband, worked the land, producing corn, cattle, swine, soybeans and hay.

Webb Brothers Farm

J. Harold Webb, Jr.
Dandra Webb Hyde
Marilyn Webb Rousseau

            Set in Hiwassee River Valley, the Webb Brothers’ Farm has been an agricultural and commercial innovator in Polk County for 100 years. Joseph Dallas and Sarah Reed Vaughn, who initially purchased 380 acres of land, established the farm in 1880. The farm now contains 690 acres. An important gathering place in Polk County for decades, the “Reliance Post Office has been located on the farm in various buildings over the years.” As a matter of fact, “family history credits the name Reliance to Sarah Reed Vaughn who served as ‘keeper of the mail.’ “ The family also operated a water-powered grist mill, sawmill, flour mill and cotton gin on the banks of the Hiwassee River.

            At the outset, the Vaughns and their seven children raised corn, livestock and timber on their land. These agricultural patterns remained unchanged during the ownership of Joseph Thomas Vaughn, a bachelor son of the founders, Fletcher Vaughn, Alice Vaughn Webb, Amy Hudson Vaughn, Jennie Vaughn Barber and William Atley Vaughn.

            In 1943, the current owners acquired the farm. Four decades later, the family states that the “farm is still managed the same as by the founder and is in either cultivated fields or mountain timberland.” The farm’s commodities include corn, hay, cattle, horses and timber. In 1936, the Webbs established a general store Texaco gas station, which now serves as the location of the Reliance post office. The store is also a bookmobile station for the Fort Loudon Regional Library. In 1969, J. H. Webb, Sr., began to offer a white-water rafting service at the store and this business is “a major tourist attraction on both the Hiwassee and Ocoee Rivers.”

            In spite of the changes to the farming landscape, much remains from the early days of the farm’s history. The family still uses its century old farmhouse and corn crib and there are traces of the mill race (a rock and earthen dam) once used to channel the Hiwassee to the grist mill.

Willis Springs Farm

Joseph M. Good, III
Janice B. Good

            In 1871, Benjamin Gerand Willis and Mary Anne Willis established the Willis Springs Farm. Located four miles east of U.S. 411, the 480 acre farm produced cotton, corn, tobacco, timber, livestock and poultry. Like many springs in Tennessee, the Willis Springs were notable for their healing properties. As a result of the springs popularity, the area became a resort where many boarding hotels and campsites emerged for guests. At the springs, people swam, square danced and fished.

            Benjamin had six children and they inherited the farm after he passed away. Eventually, two of the children, Walter Willis and Lura Willis Good, bought out the ownership of their other siblings. Lura married Dr. Joseph M. Good and they had one child, Joseph M. Good, II, and he became the next generation to own the farm. Joseph married Mary Frances Morton and they had two children. During their ownership, the farm raised timber, hay and pasture and also experienced some modern advancements with electricity becoming available through the Rural Electrification Administration in 1945, telephone service in 1960 and a widened paved road that led to the farm.

            In 1969, Mary Frances inherited the property on the death of her husband Joseph. In 1991, Joseph M. Good, III, the great grandson of the founder became the next generation to own the land. Today, Joseph and his children and grandchildren continue to manage the farm and raise hay, timber, horses and pasture.