Warren County
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 four Century
Farms and the oldest is the Adams Farm that was established in 1816. For more
information regarding Warren
County, please go to the Tennessee
Encyclopedia of History & Culture website.
For a brief historical sketch of each farm, click on the farm name.
Adams Farm
Chastain Farm
Davenport Farm
Moffitt Farm
The following map provides a general
geographical understanding. It does not provide specific locations of
the farms because of privacy reasons.

Map courtesy of Carole Swann, Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Adams Farm
Joe Ramsey Adams

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.
Chastain Farm
Edwin and Myra Chastain
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.
Davenport Farm
Wilma C. Davenport
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.
Photo: Wilma Davenport, present owner of the Davenport Century Farm.
Moffitt Farm
William C. Moffitt
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.