309 FRANKLIN COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 16, 2007
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947


Atkinson Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—The Atkinson Farm in Franklin 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 MTSU campus.
As Tennessee recovered from the Civil War, William Utey Sherrill bought 200 acres southwest of Winchester in 1868. William, who cultivated wheat and corn on his property, never married, and in the 1870s the land passed to his sister, Alanson Isabella Virginia Sherrill Atkinson.
Married to Mahlon Currier Atkinson, the couple had three children. During their ownership, they continued to produce grains and added row crops.
Over the years, the land passed through several generations of Atkinsons.
Today, he farm is now owned by the great-grand-nephew of the founder, Richard S. Atkinson. Currently Richard, his wife, their two children and Richard’s mother, Elizabeth R. Atkinson, live on the farm, where they continues to raise the traditional grains of corn, wheat as well as soybeans. The two-story house constructed in 1900 continues to be the center of the family farm.
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.

“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, 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.


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.