191 DICKSON COUNTY FARM JOIN RANKS OF CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 12, 2006
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947


Stone Hollow Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—Stone Hollow Farm in Dickson 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 Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU).
Near the Montgomery County line and about four miles from Cumberland Furnace, a farm of 93 acres was established not long after the beginning of the 20th century.
Frank Hardiman Stone paid $850 for the property in 1905. Married to Addie Shayden Stone, the couple had 10 children. Their son, Robert F. Stone, was the next generation to own the land. He and his wife, Anna Belle Stone, had three children.
In 1991, the grandson of the founder, Robert L. Stone, and his wife Mary acquired the property. Today, they continue the long tradition of raising tobacco just as his father and grandfather did. Robert, the current mayor of Dickson County, and Mary live on the farm in a house built in 1860.
Hankins said Stone Hollow Farm joins 18 other certified Century Farms in Dickson County.
The Tennessee 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 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, or to read about the histories of Gibson County farms as well as others across Tennessee, please visit its Web site at 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 interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, or obtain jpeg images of this farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.