For a brief historical sketch of each farm, click on the farm name.
Map Courtesy of Carole Swann, Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Dibrell M. Boyd
High yields in dairy production comprise the contribution
of the Boyd Jerseys Farm to
George married Belle Nicholas and they raised seven
children. In 1948, their son Dibrell inherited 42 acres of the farm. The farm
now consists of 83 acres of land. Dibrell is a dairy farming expert and in
1984, he and his son David managed the “second highest milk producing dairy
herd in the
David M. Judd
Located two miles southeast of
In 1901,
Dan Bohannon
Hunter Cove Farm is one of the oldest and most historic
farms in
The founders were the parents of two children and in
1848, their son Dudley Hunter inherited an estate of over 5,000 acres.
In 1883, Rush Hunter obtained about 300 acres of the
family land and established a new farmstead. A founder of the Dry Valley
Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Rush was a progressive farmer who invested in
breeding mules and improved the farm’s water supply. His crops included corn,
wheat, oats, millet and peas and he raised mules, cattle, swine and sheep.
Married twice and the father of fifteen children, Hunter took an active interest
in local education and was an organizer of the community’s first “subscription
school.”
Upon Rush’s death, his wife Levenia Watson Hunter
inherited the land and operated it in partnership with her son, Arnold W.
Hunter.
His widow, Vallie Huddleston Hunter, became the farm’s next owner. She supervised operations that produced winter wheat, soybeans, hay and beef cattle. Three buildings built by Rush Hunter between 1877 and 1878-the farmhouse, smokehouse and barn-remain intact and in use on the farm today. Dan Bohannon owns the farm today.
Hubert M. Huddleston
Mary Jane Huddleston
Neil Thomas Huddleston
Located
eight miles southeast of the Cookeville Courthouse, the farm was founded in
1841 by Thomas Robinson of Grayson County, Va., who received a land grant of
100 acres signed by Tennessee Gov. James C. Jones.
Thomas (1787-1882) and wife Susannah Prior, who was born in North
Carolina in 1798, and their eight children raised horses, corn, wheat and
cattle on their 100-acre farm. They built a house in 1848, along with a
smokehouse, log cabin, barn, corncrib and granary.
The eldest son, James S. Robinson,
was the second owner of the farm. He and wife Syrena Isom expanded the farm to
300 acres, and with their nine children, raised horses, hay, corn and wheat.
According to the family’s records, James Robinson raised some of the finest
horses in middle Tennessee. During the Civil War, his horses were taken by
Union troops and he was taken prisoner to care for them. He was released after
a few weeks.
In 1881, James was given 890 acres of land in White County for
compensation for the stolen horses during the war, with an additional 57 acres
granted in 1887. James and Syrena moved to this farm and left the farm in
Putnam County in the care of their daughter, Mary Jane Robinson, and her
husband, Asbury R. Bullock.
After Syrena died in 1914, Mary Jane and Asbury acquired the farm.
They built a third home on the land on Cherry Creek Road and lived there for
the rest of their lives.
In 1919, after Mary Jane and
Asbury’s death, their daughter, Arrie, and her husband, Ezra Davis, acquired
the land. Although they lived in Cookeville, they managed the 300-acre farm
through tenant farmers. Ezra Davis was a two-term mayor of Cookeville.
The fifth generation to own the farm
was Mary B. Davis and her husband, Isaac Stanton Huddleston. They bought the
land at an auction in 1949 when the Davis Estate was settled. On 140 acres,
Isaac and Mary, with their four children, raised a variety of cultivated
foods—from vegetables to strawberries—along with chickens, cows and pigs.
The couple’s main source of income, however, was tobacco. Aside
from farming, Isaac Huddleston served as a Justice of the Peace of the Mount
Herman Community and later as Trustee of Putnam County for two terms.
After Isaac’s death in 1980, the
land was willed to his four children, Hubert “Roe” Monroe, Neil, Ned (now
deceased) and Mary Jane. Today, 100 of the farm’s 140 acres are the original
land of Thomas and Susanna Robinson. Currently, “Roe” and Mary Jane continue to
live on the farm, while Neil resides in Galveston, Texas. “Roe” is the farm’s
manager and operator.
Although he no longer grows tobacco, “Roe” continues to raise hay,
cattle and some vegetable produce.
Additionally, continuing a progressive farming tradition started by his
father, he completed a long-term soil conservation program and has also
participated in a pasture contest.
David M. Judd
The Judd Farm, located two miles southeast of
Kenneth E. Mansell
In May of 1888, George Washington (G.W.) Mansell founded a 95 acre
farm about two miles east of
In 1937, the farm was divided
between two of the founder’s sons. One part of the farm was acquired by Johnnie
Lee Mansell. Married to Ophie May Peek,
they were the parents of Amanda and Elmer Earl. During their ownership, the
farm produced hay, livestock, corn and other row crops for the family’s food.
The second parcel was owned by Harvey Napoleon Mansell. Married twice, he
fathered ten children. Harvey and his family raised similar crops and livestock
to that of his brother, but also raised sugar cane. The sugar cane was used to make molasses and
neighbors came for this seasonal activity.
After the molasses was made, the family and community would celebrate
with a community festival. In addition to the molasses-making,
In 1975, the grandson of the
founders, Kenneth E. Mansell, acquired 41 acres of the farm. Along with his wife Letha, Kenneth and
daughter Susie live on the farm. Kenneth
raises hay, pasture, formerly tobacco, livestock, hogs, cattle, mules and
llamas. He has been active in 4-H and
FFA since he was in high school when he showed calves and pigs. Kenneth continues the family tradition of
mule handling that dates back to his grandfather. He uses mules in farming and to show. Mule-drawn wagon rides are popular with
children on the farm and at the annual
“Kids Day on a Farm” at the
Photo: (top left) George Washington Mansell with mules, (top center) John and Ophie Mansell with Washington car, (top right) Harvey Mansell, (Bottom left) Mansell Family Reunion 1967, (bottom right) Kenneth Mansell and Mule Wagon.
Ronald W. Martin
Prize winning progressive farming has marked the recent
history of the Pearson Farm, which is located four miles north of
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the farm passed through the hands of two additional generations of the Pearson family. In 1937, Oral and Neta Pearson inherited 60 acres from their parents, Robert N. and Mary Wilmoth Pearson. For almost 50 years, Oral and Neta have operated the farm, specializing in hay and registered Polled Hereford cattle production. Oral has won several agricultural awards, including the “Master Conservation Farmer” award in 1963 and the “Champion Pasture” award in 1965. Today, Ronald W. Martin owns the land.
Photo: Oral Pearson of Putnam County poses with his mules, which were often treated as favored members of the family. In fact, farmers often spent more time with their mules than they did with their family.
Rodger D. Phillips
Freida Nelle Phillips
Denny
Roy Harrell Phillips
The Quarles family traces its settlement in the area to William
Pennington Quarles, a Revolutionary War veteran who founded the community of
The third generation to own the farm
was the founder’s grandson, Roy C. Phillips.
When
Photo: Tombstone of William Braxron Quarles, founder of the Quarles-Phillips Century Farm.
Deloy Rockwell
Dating to the acquisition of 150 acres in 1869, the
Rockwell Farm is six miles east of
In 1935, the farm passed to H. Dealer Rockwell, the grandson of the founders. Dealer, his wife Eunica Barnes and their seven children continued to modernize the farm’s activities; they introduced new breeds of livestock as well. The family also fertilized its land, which increased crop yields. Deloy M. Rockwell, the farm’s present manager, acquired 60 acres from his parents in 1968. Today, his brother J. L. Rockwell harvests the farm’s annual hay crop.
Miriam Shanks Gwaltney
In the 11th District of Putnam County stands
the Shanks Farm, which dates to 1859 when Craven M. and Nancy Henley Shanks
acquired title to 165 acres of land. Raising herds of swine, sheep and cattle,
the Shanks cultivated corn, dark tobacco and sorghum cane. They also worked a
small patch of cotton to provide clothing for the family. During the Civil War,
Craven served in the Union army.
Robert F. and Ann Anderson Shanks were the farm’s second
generation owners. In 1918, their son Luke Shanks obtained approximately 200
acres of farmland. By 1976, Luke and his son George Shanks managed a farm of
574 acres and raised tobacco and beef cattle. Four years later, Miriam Shanks
Gwaltney, the great granddaughter of Craven and Nancy Shanks, acquired 164
acres of the original farm. She now supervises 274 acres, which produce tobacco
and beef cattle.