219 OVERTON COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 17, 2007
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947
Dodson Farm Recognized for Long History of Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—The Dodson Farm in Overton County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Tennessee Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
In 1856, the Rev. Thomas R. Dodson moved from upper east Tennessee to Overton County. Two years later he purchased a little more than 203 acres and began a career as a farmer and merchant. Dotson raised corn, hay, cattle, sheep, horses and mules and also operated a general store on the property. Thomas was also an active volunteer for the American Bible Society and traveled many miles on horseback each month to distribute Bibles to families and individuals who did not have one of their own.
In 1873, Dodson deeded some of his land for Dodson’s Chapel Church and cemetery. Eventually, he helped build the church and served as its first pastor. In 1884 the Miranda Tennessee Post Office was established and housed in Dodson’s general store. The post office was named Miranda after one of his and Martha Johnson Dodson’s daughters. The couple raised eleven children on the farm.
The next generation to own the land was their son, John Larkin Dodson. Married twice, he fathered eight children. During his ownership, the farm produced a variety of livestock and crops. According to the family, a weekly “trade day,” where local farmers gathered to buy and sell livestock was held on the farm.
Tommie C. Dodson, a son of John Larkin Dodson, owned the land until he died in 1962. At that time, the property was divided into interests of one-third and distributed to different heirs. In 1991-92, the current owner, Ken E. Dodson II, whose father Kenneth Edward Dodson was a son of Tommie Dodson, purchased 40.8 acres of the farm from two of the three heirs.
Today, Ken, his wife, Gretchen and their daughters, Sydney and Harley, live on the farm, which currently produces hay and cattle. Dodson’s Chapel still stands as a reminder of the family’s ties and contributions to the community.
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, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.