019 FAYETTE COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 1, 2007
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

FAYETTE COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
Spencer Brothers Farm 25th in County to be Recognized for Ag. Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—The Spencer Brothers Farm in Fayette 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.
Some 100 years ago, James Joseph Spencer and his neighbor, William Jefferson Wiles, purchased a tract of land that had been owned by Spencer’s father until his in 1902. This tract and others were sold to settle the estate in 1906. Spencer bought a portion of what had been his father’s land in May 1907.
James and his wife Nannie Payne Spencer had five boys—Curtis, Leroy, Alton, Malcolm and T. J. On 120 acres, they raised cotton, corn, pasture, hay, beef cattle, hogs, chickens and goats. When James died in 1918, Nannie received one-half interest in the farm, which she retained until her death in 1955. Her sons inherited the remaining half.
Over the next several years, Curtis, Leroy and Alton sold their interests in the land to their brother, Malcolm Spencer. In 1986, the land was acquired by
T. J.’s sons, Jimmy N. Spencer and Billy T. Spencer.
Currently, Jimmy manages and works the farm founded by his grandparents. He raises beef cattle, pasture and hay. In addition, he rents out some of the cropland for cotton and soybeans.
Hankins said Spencer Brothers Farm is the 25th certified Century Farm in Fayette County.
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 CHP 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.




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ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947. To secure a jpeg of the Century Farms sign that designated farm owners receive, please e-mail your request to lrollins@mtsu.edu.