422 WASHINGTON COUNTY FARM JOIN RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS

Maple Valley Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 7, 2006
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947


(MURFREESBORO)—The Maple Valley Farm in Washington 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.
Located five miles south of Jonesboro is the Maple Valley Farm that was founded in 1899 by siblings John and Susan Walters. On 88 acres, the farm produced tobacco, wheat and cattle. John married Mary E. Lamon Walters and they reared six children.
In 1924, two of their sons, William D. Walters and John F. Walters, acquired the farm. William wed Maudie M. Ottinger and they had five children. John married Viola B. Miller and they reared three children—Sherman, Maude, and Sara.
In 1950, the granddaughter of the founder, Maude Teague, became the owner of the land. Today, Maude, her son Robert J. Teague, and her granddaughter, Michelle Livingston, live on the farm. Robert and John F. Walter, a great-nephew of Mrs. Teague, work the land and raise cattle.
Maple Valley Farm joins 16 other Washington County farms that are a part of the Century Farms Program.

About the Tennessee Century Farm Program

The Tennessee Century Farm Program, now 30 years old, 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 through the Tennessee Century Farm Program, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.
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 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 farm’s current owners, please contact the Center for Historic Preservation at 615-898-2947.