018 GRAINGER COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS

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

Bowen/Creech-Moody Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—The Bowen/Creech-Moody Farm in Grainger County recently was 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 MTSU campus.
On Dec. 10, 1900, Effie M. Phillips-Rucker established a farm of 350 acres east of Rutledge on U.S. Highway 11 West. Married to John Frank Rucker, the couple produced alfalfa, hay, corn, oats, tobacco, wheat, apples, beef cattle and chickens.
According to CHP records, prior to Highway 11 West’s creation, the dirt road than ran in front of the family home became very muddy when it rained or snowed. Travelers, whose wagon or automobile became stuck, came to the family’s house for help. The Ruckers provided assistance, day or night. When 11 West was being built, the farm provided water for the survey and construction crews who filled their containers from the spring that continues to be the main source of water for the house.
Hankins said that the family recalls that the farmhouse was the first and only place in the community that had a telephone. Neighbors came to the house to use this then-new piece of technology to call a doctor or for other emergencies or needs. The farm supported from five to seven tenant families and also hired nearby landowners who needed extra money during the year.
In 1926, James Oscar Rucker, the founders’ only son, acquired the farm. Married to Jessie E. McDaniel-Rucker, the couple had two children, Hazel L. and John Frank Rucker. In 1929, the house had the first electricity in the community installed in the family’s home. In addition to installing electricity, the company also encouraged the family to display Christmas lights on two tall cedar trees in the yard. The family reports that people came from Morristown, Rogersville and Jefferson City to see the lighted trees.
Upon the death of James in 1931, his wife inherited the property. Jessie and her children and their families worked the land for the next 20 years, establishing a Hereford cattle operation. In 1950, the land was divided between Hazel and John Frank Rucker.
During the ownership of Hazel L. Rucker and her husband Benjamin A. Creech Jr., the farm’s major cash crop was burley tobacco. In addition, the farm supported cattle, hogs and sheep. Over the next two decades, Hazel and Ben made improvements to the farm, including the construction of a new tool shed, a screened-in front porch on the house and reconstruction of some log houses for their home and for Ben’s woodworking business.


While the couple managed the farm, they also were active in the community. Ben was a member of the Tennessee Livestock Association, the local cattlemen’s association, the Farm Bureau and the local Farmer’s Cooperative. He also served on the Board of Directors of the TVA & I Fair Association in Knoxville from 1947 to 1984. Hazel, meanwhile, was a charter member of the Avondale Community Club and the local association of cattlewomen. Hazel’s brother, John Frank Rucker, built his family home on the south side of the farm and raised cattle until his late ‘80s. He remained on the farm where he was born until 2004, when he died at age 92.
In 2003, the great-granddaughter of the founder, Alice Creech-Moody, acquired the farm. She is the daughter of Hazel and Benjamin Creech. A 4-H Club member from 1949 to 1958, her interest was raising and showing beef claves. Alice, along with her husband, James R. (Rick) Moody, manages the farm but lease it to Donny Hixon.
Today, the main house, part of which dates to 1866, as well as a barn, a blacksmith ship, a spring house, a scale house, a cattle barn and a smokehouse—all of which were built in the early 20th century—are among the buildings on this farm.
“This well-documented farm is one of Grainger County’s most historic places and the family continues to preserve its stories, buildings, and the land,” Hankins says.
The Bowen/Creech-Moody joins seven other certified Century Farms in Grainger County.
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.
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.

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• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request an interview with the owners of this farm, or to obtain jpegs of the farm for editorial use, please contact the Center for Historic Preservation at 615-898-2947.