507 WILSON COUNTY FARMS JOIN RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 7, 2006
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947.


100-Plus-Year-Old Donnell and Cook’s Hill Farms Recognized for Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—The Donnell Farm and Cook’s Hill Farm, both of which are located in Wilson County, have been designated as Tennessee Century Farms, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
In 1893, Robert Newton Donnell established the Donnell Farm. Located south east of Lebanon, the 143 acres produced corn, hay, livestock, sorghum and small grains. Under his ownership, a farmhouse and many outbuildings were constructed on the land.
Married to Lantie D. Donnell, the couple had four children—Alexander Clarence, Robert Stone, Henry Toy and Martha Christine. During World War I, Alexander Clarence served overseas. After he returned from the war, he married Fannie Ethel Turner. Not long after, Robert constructed a second house for Alexander.
In 1954, Henry Toy Donnell acquired the land. Along with his wife, Willie Davis, they cultivated hay, corn, tobacco, small grains and raised livestock.
Ethelyne D. Lannom, niece of the founders, acquired the farm in 1974. Today, Ethelyne and her husband Jackson Lannom continue to own and manage the land. David Wrather raises livestock and hay on the property.
Located several miles west of Lebanon is the Cook’s Hill Farm that was established by Susan Young Cook and Eulexis Kelly Cook in 1881. On 185 ½ acres, they produced wheat, corn, vegetables, sheep and cattle. The couple parented 14 children.
In 1944, Susan and Eulexis’s son, Joe L. Cook, acquired the farm. Under his ownership, many of the same livestock and crops were raised with the addition of horses. He and his wife Claude Johnson had five children. Their names were Joe L. Jr., Sue, Joanne, Johnson and Eulexis Kelly.
In 1973, the grandson of the founder, Eulexis “Lex” Kelly Cook, acquired the farm. Today, Lex still lives on the land with wife Sylvia McFarland, where he manages the farm and raises cattle, hay and garden vegetables. A smokehouse, sheep barn, slave cabin, tool shed, chicken house and a tobacco barn remain on the farm that retains the name and the land of the founders of the historic farm founded 125 years ago.
Hankins said the Donnell and Cook’s Hill Farms join the ranks of many other properties designated in Wilson County, which has more certified Century Farms than any other county in the state.
The Century Farm 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 through the Tennessee Century Farm Program, and continues to administer this program.
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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 to Century Farm families, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production,”
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,” said Hankins, “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.