Wherleys Farm
Thelma Wherley
The Wherleys Farm, established by Joseph and Anne Yates Morton in 1827, is located six and a half miles southwest of Shelbyville. The North Carolina-born Morton began with 50 acres and added 120 acres to the farm during his lifetime. The father of eight children, Joseph produced the typical crops and livestock of the region: corn, hay, wheat, cattle, horses and swine. According to family tradition, the Mortons were “a hard working God fearing family with normal activities and interests in the development of this area both civic and religious.”
In 1866, Jospeh and Anne’s daughter Letsey Morton Robinson and her husband Henry T. Robinson acquired the 170 acre farm. They added apple and peach orhchards to the farm’s landscape and improved cattle and swine.
By 1915, the farm had passed into the hands of three sons of Henry and Letsey Robinson: H. W., Joe H. and C. M. Robinson. The years from 1915 to 1940 witnessed many changes as the brothers built barns, storage sheds and started a dairy. H. W. bought out his brothers’ interests and by 1940 was the sole owner of Wherleys Farm. He and Edyth Davidson Robinson had two children, Thelma and Nannie.
Thelma Robinson Wherley inherited her parents’ 170 acre farm in 1956.