081 CHESTER COUNTY FARMS JOIN RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 20, 2006
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947


Trice and Burns-McKinnon Farms Recognized for Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—Two farms in Chester 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 September 1856, William Crook Trice established a farm east of Henderson in what was then Henderson County. Trice and his wife, Eliza Boren, were natives of Henderson County. They were married in November 1856 and had seven children.
Increasing his original 441 acres to 1,200 acres, the Trice Farm produced corn, cotton, wheat, oats, cattle, mules, hogs, chickens and hay. Trice was appointed magistrate in 1865 and was also a mason.
The next owner of the property was Luke Lee Trice, the son of the founders. An article in the local newspaper dated 1945 notes that L. L. Trice “carries his 86 years like a champion. He is a prosperous farmer, drives his car, rides horseback and makes daily trips around his farm during planting and harvesting seasons.” Wed to Elma Cornelia Priddy, the couple had two children, Mary Leslie and William Lee Trice.
In 1952, William Lee Trice acquired the farm. He and his wife, Zelda Opal Allen, had two children, Virginia Allen and William Luke. During this generation, the farm supported corn, cotton, wheat, oats, hay, soybeans, hogs and mules.
In 1999, William Luke Trice, the great-grandson of the founder, became the owner of the property. Today, Trice cultivates soybeans and wheat on the family farm that celebrates its 150th anniversary this month.
• The Burns-McKinnon Farm is the second Century Farm in Chester County that originates with the farm established in 1880 by William James and Rhoda Jones Burns, just one year after Chester County was formed from four adjacent counties, Hankins says.
The parents of nine children, the Burns produced sheep, cattle, hogs, cotton, corn, wheat and hay. Their daughter, Elizabeth “Bettie” Minerva Burns, became the owner of the farm in 1892. Married to Angus J. McKinnon, who died only seven months after their marriage, they had one son, born six months after his father’s death. Bettie reared her son and maintained the farm on her own.
Hankins says the family recounts a story of a younger Bettie during the years of the Civil War, before the Burns moved to this property. Bettie hid the hogs, sheep and cows in the brush near a creek when Union soldiers were encamped in the area. However, she could not hide the horses; thus, the soldiers took most of them. Undaunted, she rode after them to Pinson about five miles away.
“She must have presented herself as a courageous woman riding sidesaddle and traveling this distance as she somehow persuaded the Yankees into returning the horses they had stolen from her,” writes one of her descendents.
In 1907, Bettie’s son, William Angus McKinnon, became the third-generation owner of the farm. William and wife Martha E. Simmons McKinnon had three children—Lessie, Dossie and William. During his ownership, William opened and operated a potato house, where many community members stored their crops in designated bins. McKinnon controlled the temperature so the potatoes would be preserved throughout the winter.
Dossie Lee McKinnon acquired the family farm in 1929. He and his wife, Hester Fry, served as hosts for many church and community gatherings. Giant oak trees and a spring formed a popular spot for picnicking and swimming. Tragically, Dossie was killed in 1939. Crossing a road during a blinding dust storm, he was struck and killed by an automobile. Like Bettie, Hester reared two small boys and managed the farm.
In 1988, the great-great-grandson of the founder, Roy L. McKinnon, acquired part of the property, as did his brother, William Bernard McKinnon (whose farm was certified as a Century Farm earlier this year). Buildings that are reminders of the generations who lived and worked here during the 20th century include a log cabin, where Lessie, William and Dossie McKinnon were born; a frame house constructed in the 1920s; and two barns built in the 1940s.
Today, three generations live on the Burns-McKinnon Farm, which produces hay and cattle.
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 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 1000 Century Farms across the state and all 95 counties are represented.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins says, “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, please contact the Center for Historic Preservation at 615-898-2947.