408 GREENE COUNTY FARM JOIN RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

Rocky Field Farm 42nd Farm in County to be Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 28, 2006
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

(MURFREESBORO)—The Rocky Field Farm in Greene County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the campus of MTSU.
In 1796, the same year that Tennessee became a state, Joseph White obtained 40 acres of land north of Greeneville, on the sinking branch of Lick Creek, as a purchase from land-grant holder John Smith.
Married to Margaret Duncan in 1805, the Whites had six sons and two daughters. At Joseph’s death in 1841, Margaret inherited all property. In April of 1852, their son Jacob bought the shares of three of his brothers; only the sons inherited property at their mother’s death. Jacob and his wife Rebecca Thompson, who he married in 1833, had six children, Isaac, Susan, Eliza, John, Sarah and Aby.
When Jacob and Rebecca died, the land passed to their children, including their daughters. John White and wife Elizabeth White (a cousin) married in 1861 and had seven children. Their son, also named Jacob after his grandfather, acquired the property in the 1890s. Along with his wife Salome, Jacob cultivated corn, wheat and hay and raised cattle, horses, mules, sheep, hogs and poultry. Their son, Arthur, died of typhoid fever in the 1920s and the land passed directly to his children, Clara and Evaline White, granddaughters of the founders.
Clara White became the sole owner of the farm in 1938. Clara married Dorsey Hobart Hughes and they had four children. Under their ownership, the farm supported similar livestock and crops were raised by the founders, with the addition of hogs and tobacco.
In 1978, the land was acquired by Clara and Dorsey’s son, Bobby Wayne Hughes and his wife Helen M. Hughes, who owned the property until 1993 when Herbert Wayne Hughes obtained it. Today, Wayne and wife Pamela Hughes raise beef cattle, horses, tobacco, hay and corn. In addition to the owners, other members of the family, including Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Hughes and children, Mrs. Helen Hughes and Mark Hughes live on the farm. These three generations continue the farming traditions on the land their family has owned for as long as Tennessee has been a state.
The Rocky Field Farm is the 42nd farm in Greene County to be certified as a Century Farm.
Hankins said the farm’s owners would especially like to thank Mrs. Betty Black who “provided invaluable information as our family historian to identify key links enabling us to trace the ancestry/ownership to the earliest possible date.” Also, the Hughes family acknowledges the kind assistance of Mrs. Marie Harmon, county historian, whose knowledge of the resources of the Elmer T. Cox Genealogy and Historical Library helped to trace the family and farm history.
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About the Century Farm Program

The Tennessee Century Farms Program recognizes the contributions of Tennessee residents who have continuously owned and kept in production, family land for at least 100 years. Since 1984, the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU has been a leader in the important work of documenting Tennessee’s agricultural heritage and history by administering this statewide program. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial and provides a metal outdoor sign to the Century Farm families following certification by the Center.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state and all of the state’s 95 counties are represented.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.

• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request an interview with the farms’ current owners, or to request a jpeg of the farm and its current owners for editorial use, please contact the Center for Historic Preservation at 615-898-2947.
**ART IS AVAILABLE FOR THIS FARM UPON REQUEST.