310 JEFFERSON COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

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


Fairview Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—The Fairview Farm in Jefferson 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.
Hankins said Fairview was a well-known historic property long before 370 acres were conveyed to Lissie Reed James in 1894. Married to Samuel James, the couple had seven children. Their names were Thomas, James, Mollie, Viola, Adelaide, Charles and Robert. On 370 acres, the farm produced beef cattle, hay, wheat and corn. In addition to managing the farm, the family owned the local livery, feed and sales stable in Jefferson City.
The next owners of the farm were their sons, Robert T. and C. C. James.
C. C. married Nelle Duncan James, but they had no children. Robert wed Valley Eve Duncan and they had one son named Robert V. James.
In 2000, the great-granddaughter of the founder, Mary E. James Musick acquired the property. Currently, the land is worked by Mary’s husband, Larry R. Musick, who produces hay and beef cattle. The family, which includes daughter Sarah, is active in the Jefferson County Extension Agent and the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce and often brings groups to tour the farm.
The house at Fairview was designed by William Strickland who was the first president of the American Institute of Architects and the designer of the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville. The farm also has the original slave quarters, the kitchen and a smokehouse.
The Battle of Mossy Creek was fought on the farm in 1863. As a result of its historical significance and architecture, Hankins noted, Fairview is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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.