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Warren County was established in 1807 and was named in honor of General Joseph Warren, the first general killed in the War of Independence and its county seat is McMinnville. The county has a notable lumber industry and a nursery industry that have provided support for the county’s economy. The county is also home to Rock Island State Park where many residents find recreational opportunities. Warren County has seven Century Farms and the oldest is the Stubblefield Farms that was established in 1814. For more information regarding Warren County, please go to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History & Culture website.

For over 170 years, the Starkey-Adams family has tilled the same 125 acres that comprise the Adams Century Farm. Isarah Starkey, who homesteaded this land as early as 1808, acquired the title to 125 acres in 1816 and established the family farm, which is located eight miles west of McMinnville. His son, Isaac Starkey, inherited the family farm later in the nineteenth century. His wife was Cassandra Crowe and together they raised three children. Little else is known about the early history of the farm.

In 1953, all of the founders’ initial 125 acres passed to his great great grandson, Joe Ramsey Adams. Over 30 years later, Joe continues the farm’s operations, harvesting fields of corn, wheat and beans. He also manages herds of swine and beef cattle.

Photo: Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Dodd and children pose in front of their house in Warren County. The prescence of two hired helpers, one standing on the porch and the other on the far left, inidicates their acceptance as a part of the family.

Between 1838 and 1839, the federal government forcibly removed thousands of Cherokee Indians from their homelands in East Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina. The overland route that the Cherokees took between Tennessee and Oklahoma has become known as the “Trail of Tears” because possibly as many as 4,000 tribal members died during the journey. The Chastain Farm, which is three miles southeast of McMinnville, not only contains one of the Cherokee campsites from the Trail of Tears; the farm’s history also includes significant information about hard cider production, mid-wives and the progressive farming experience in eastern Middle Tennessee. In 1818, Jean and Polly Bottom Chastain began farming with 74 acres and added land and improved the farm over time. The Chastains and their fourteen children cultivated apple trees and made hard cider. They also raised sheep for their own use.

In 1833, Miles Chastain purchased 74 acres from his father and became the farm’s second owner. Five years after beginning his farm, Miles witnessed the “Trail of Tears” of the Cherokee Indians as they were force to leave East Tennessee and march westward toward Oklahoma. One group of Cherokees camped on the farm. Miles and his spouse Mariah Burlison eventually owned a farm of 260 acres. The parents of twelve children, the Chastains continued to operate the hard cider and opened a grist mill. A part-time surveyor, Miles also grew wheat, tobacco, corn and sugar cane.

Miles Thomas Chastain, the founders’ grandson, acquired over 100 acres of the farm between 1872 and 1877. Miles Thomas and his brother kept the family’s cider mill in operation and also “ran a small saw mill.” Miles’ wife, Mary Rice, served as a mid-wife to the communities of Shellsford and Smyrna. She lived until 1936 and was the mother of five children. The Chastains owned a very diversified farm, producing tobacco, corn, sugar cane, cotton, wool, wheat and honey.

In 1921, Miles Thomas Chastain, Jr., acquired his first tract of family land and by 1958, he owned 193. 5 acres of the farm. Married to Matilda Smoot, Miles held several public offices, including school board chairman and county highway superintendent. He also modernized the farm’s operations, transforming the place into one of the area’s most progressive farms. Tobacco, corn, sugar cane, wheat and honey were the farm’s basic commodities. In the 1920s, Miles purchased five Holstein heifers from Wisconsin and established a small dairy, named the Chastain Brothers, which delivered milk to McMinnville residents.

In 1950, Myra Elizabeth and Edwin E. Chastain acquired 166 acres of the farm from their parents. They now own 198 acres which yield beef cattle, hay, corn, tobacco and vegetables. The Chastains also manage a large dairy operation and James Donald Evans is their herdsmen. These great great grandchildren have maintained the family tradition of public service: Myra is a member of the county commission and Edwin is a deacon at the Shellsford Baptist Church.

John Burl Davenport and Elizabeth DeBerry married about 1838 in Warren County. About 1850 and perhaps earlier, the couple acquired land adjoining Elizabeth’s parents’ farm in the Centertown community. At about this time John donated land for the Big Springs Baptist Church and cemetery. John and Elizabeth had eight children. This son, Wesley, became the owner of the farm in 1879. Wesley married Hanson Owens and their farm, like most others was self-sufficent, supporting hogs, cattle, horses, corn, hay, oats and cotton.

In 1886, the land was acquired by John Burl’s brother, Edmond Davenport. On 218 acres, he raised corn, hay, hogs, cattle, cotton, fruit and a variety of vegetables. Edmond wed Nancy Lemmons and they had eleven children. They were also active members of the Big Springs Baptist Church.

Two years after Edmond acquired the property, the land was passed to his son Robert and his wife Sally Frances Bottoms. During their ownership, they added a wheat crop and maintained a large apple orchard. According to the family, these apples were loaded onto a wagon and taken to a distillery located near Clearmont. Robert and Sally’s sons were Alton Hill and Frim Morford Davenport.

In 1939, Alton Hill Davenport became the fifth generation to own the land. Under his ownership, Alton continued to produce traditional crops and livestock, but also established a Grade A Dairy Farm and introduced Holstein cattle, beef cattle and soybeans to the farm. Alton served as a school teacher in the community and was President of Centertown Bank until 1933 when it closed.

Alton’s son, Morris L. Davenport acquired the farm over a period of years beginning in 1952. Married to Wilma C. Davenport, they had two daughters, Elena and Phyllis. In addition to managing the farm, the couple was very active in the community. During the 1960s and 1970s, Morris and his wife were members of the Centertown Community Improvement Club and the Farm Bureau. Morris served as a Volunteer Fireman while Wilma has been an active member of Centertown Home Demonstration Club (HDC) and Vinson’s Crossroads HDC. In 1992, Morris passed away and Wilma inherited the property. Currently, the farm is rented out to Jason and Jarvin Fann, family friends, who produce soybeans and corn. Additional acreage is in timber.

For the sum of $250, George Hulett purchased 130 acres of land in Warren County in 1888 “on the waters of Barren Fork of Collins River.”He and his wife, Ann Hulett, had two children, Margie and Leslie, and raised corn, hay, hogs, cows and horses.

More than 50 years later, Loyd Burks, grandson of the founder and son of Margie Burks, acquired the land from the heirs. In 1961, for the price of $1, Loyd’s wife, Roscie Deans Burks, purchased one half interest of the farm to make her an equal owner. The couple had one daughter, Jewel Dean. By this time, the farm had increased to 210 acres. Loyd, Soil Conservation Farmer of the Year for 1988, raises hay and Black Angus cattle, and lives on the farm today.

In 2009, Jewel acquired 100 acres of the original farm established by George Hulett. She and her husband, Kenneth Medlen, also raise hay and Black Angus cattle with the help of their two children, Becky and Tracey. Three generations of the family carry on the traditions begun more than 120 years ago.

Located three miles east of Irving College on Hills Creek Road in Warren County lies the Moffitt Farm. The farm was established in 1825 by Aaron Moffitt and his wife Harriett. On 490 acres, they raised corn, hay, horses, cattle and hogs. The couple had seven children and their son, Gilbert Pierce Moffitt became the next owner of the land. Under Gilbert’s ownership, he cultivated the same crops and livestock as the previous owner. According to family tradition, during the Civil War, many of the crops and other edible items were taken by the Union soldiers who passed through the region. Gilbert’s son, Elijah was the third generation to own the farm and his son Shirley Alfred Moffitt became the next owner. After Shirley Alfred, the farm passed to the current owner William C. Moffitt who acquired the farm in 1968. Today, the farm mainly raises beef cattle and timber. A barn that was built in the 1890s has been maintained and continues to be used.

River Valley Farm

Jimmy R. Barnes

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River Valley Farm is bordered by the Barren Fork River and takes its name from the fertile valleys and river bottoms. James Jasper Lance (1791-1879) was given a land grant of 100 acres in 1828 one which he grew corn, vegetables and livestock. Another water source on this farm is several fresh water springs which continue to be used today.

Clayton Nale Lance, James’s eldest son, was born in 1813. In 1836, Clayton with his wife, Matilda (Luttrell), his young son, James S., and mother-in-law traveled to eastern Alabama where they lived among the Creek Indians at Talledega. According to the family, “he also witnessed the march of the Indians from Alabama to their new home in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).” On their way back to Tennessee, Clayton helped dig the canal around Muscle Shoals. Once back on the farm, he acquired a tract from his father in 1851 and grew corn, soybeans, cane, wheat, chickens, cattle, hogs, horses, and mules.

At the end of the Civil War, Tilman Cantrell Lance, another son of Clayton and Matilda, inherited the 100 acre farm just after the Civil War. He had soldiered for the Confederacy in the 11^th Calvary, Company L. Tilman and his wife Amie E. [Davenport] Lance were the parents of Matilda, Collie, and Eddie. Using some of the farming techniques his father learned from the Creeks, he raised a large vegetable garden, corn, cane, cotton, mules, horses, and chickens. Tilman and Amie left the property to their daughters, Matilda and Collie.

R. C. (Clarence) Barnes, husband to Matilda [Lance] Barnes, became the fourth owner of the farm in 1909. Willie, Edna, Colonel Doyle, and Amy were their children. During this time, the Barnes family owned approximately 200 acres and raised corn, soybeans, cattle, hogs, and mules.

After R. C.’s death in 1918, the farm went to his son, Colonel C. Doyle Barnes. He and his wife, Hilmer Martin Barnes, had five children, but only Doyle lived to adulthood. Along with the River Valley Farm, C. Doyle owned another farm where he operated the Clearmont Mill and ground flour and meal during the Great Depression. The family recalls that “he was a very generous person and would strive to barter for most anything to keep a family from going hungry.”

Colonel C. Doyle, Jr., acquired the farm in 1956. Married to Lucille Vera [Tenpenny], the couple had five children and continued to raise a vegetable garden, a herd of 75-100 dairy cattle, and hay. “C. D.” was a progressive farmer concerned with preserving the farm for future generations. He followed many conservation practices and dug ponds that were fed by the springs. All of his children showed registered Holsteins and Guernsey at fairs in Tennessee and Kentucky. For the next generation, this was a very important time in their lives. They remember the 1910 barn, which is still in use, as the center of the farm’s dairy operations and the main source of income. Vickie Barnes Bouldin, who documented the family farm’s history in the application, writes, “If that dairy barn could talk it might tell of the cold mornings that were so difficult for that teenager to roll out of bed, get milking and feeding done, and then go to school. It would tell of the tie that binds our family together throughout life and would help form each of our characters today. Although at that time in our life we thought we had it hard, I can truly say that it made us the individuals we are today.”

In April of 1993, Jimmy and Paula Barnes and Michael and Vickie [Barnes] Bouldin purchased the 197 acre farm from Lucille. Jimmy and Vickie are the great great great great grandchildren of the founder. They continued to grow hay and converted several acres to grow nursery stock of fruit and ornamental trees.

Today Jimmy and Paula Barnes are the sole owners of the River Valley Farm. Jimmy and Vickie’s sister, Joyce, lives in the 1953 home of C. Doyle Barnes and represents the 7^th generation to live on the land. Most of the 61 acres of the farm are used for the nursery. Jimmy and his son Jimmy, Jr., work the farm as well as the Heritage Farms Nursery.

Photo: Colonel Doyle Barnes in a horse-drawn buggy.

Stubblefield Farms

Among the oldest and best-documented family farms in Warren County, Stubblefield Farms originated with William Stubblefield, who purchased 275 acres of land north of Viola in 1814 from Elijah Chisholm, a Revolutionary War Veteran who was granted lands in Warren and White Counties in 1809.

On his farm, Stubblefield grew variety of crops and raised livestock, including horses. Family history records that William’s father, Robert Loxley Stubblefield of Hawkins County, gave him “a valuable stud horse which he chose instead of land,” presumably choosing to move west rather than remain in upper-east Tennessee. Subsequently, William, whose wife was Wilmuth Bond, bequeathed a horse to each of their 11 children.

Between 1848 and 1850, William and Wilmuth’s son, Robert Locksley “Lock” Stubblefield, traveled to Nashville to hire a schoolteacher for the community. Mary Jane Catherine Stout, who graduated from the Nashville Female Academy in 1847, returned to take the post, and married Lock in 1851.

In 1853, Lock opened a general merchandise store and served as postmaster for the post office located in his store. Local history records indicated that it was during this period that the community was officially named Viola for the Shakespearean character in “Twelfth Night.”

In 1890, as Lock’s health deteriorated, his son, James Robert “J. R.” Stubblefield, left his position as a schoolteacher to manage the family farm. He and his father agreed that J. R. was to get 44 acres on which to build a house for himself and his wife, Sallie Campbell, as well as half the proceeds of the farm and possession of the entire farm upon Lock’s death, which occurred in 1909.

After she was widowed, Mary moved in with J. R. and Sallie, living with them until age 96. Her burial in 1926 was the last one in the cemetery on the farm, where William, Wilmuth, Lock and other family members and slaves are buried.

In the late 1920s, J. R., who was also a preacher, helped his brother George borrow money to buy cattle for his farm. Once the Depression hit, George lost his farm and J. R. was close to losing his as well, but his two oldest sons, Royce and Herman, paid the mortgage to keep the farm in the family. Royce bought 127 acres of the farm and, along with his second wife, Ruth Givens, continued to work the farm and host family gatherings at Christmas and the Fourth of July.

An efficient farmer, Royce raised wheat, corn, hay, cattle, hogs and chickens. He plowed with a team of mules that, according to family members’ recollections, also gave rides to the children. He and Ruth worked together on chores and had an enviable vegetable garden each year, as well as a large vineyard, orchards and nut trees.

Royce died in 1983, leaving the farm to Ruth, who retained ownership until 1991 when Royce’s nephew, Charles Stubblefield purchased the land. Charles was the great-great-grandson of William and Wilmuth Stubblefield.

After Charles’ death in 2009, his wife Carolyn retained the 127-acres farm that currently yields soybeans and corn. Carolyn has compiled an impressive family history, with many stories and recollections of each generation and prepared the Century Farm application.

Herman, who also helped to pay the farm’s mortgage, continued to farm his 109 acres. He attended Todd Academy in Viola and was a mechanic who studied at the Automobile Training School in Kansas City, Mo. In 1919, Herman married Mamie Hall. The couple and their six children worked hard on and off the farm, with each child attending college.

When Herman could no longer work the farm, his grandson, Stephen Stubblefield, moved to the farm with his wife, Jill, to manage the farm. After Herman’s death, the land went to his six children, all of whom later sold their shares to Steve.

Today, Steve is the Warren County executive director for Farm Services Agency and Jill is a kindergarten teacher.