044 CROCKETT COUNTY FARM JOIN S RANKS OF CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 21, 2007
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

CROCKETT COUNTY FARM JOIN S RANKS OF CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
Mount Farm 17th in County to be Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Mount Farm in Crockett 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.
In 1860, Harris Noblin Mount established a 100-acre farm in what was originally Dyer County, but one that became part of Crockett County in 1871. Under his ownership, cotton, corn and hay were cultivated.
During the Civil War, Harris served in the 6th Division, 16th Army Corps at Fort Pillow, Tenn. According to the family’s history, Harris married four times, and each time wore the same broadcloth suit. It was also the suit in which he was buried.
Henry Winchester Mount, the son of Harris and his fourth wife, Martha Jane Stephenson, acquired the farm in 1912 following his father’s death. Wed to Naudie Dobbins, the couple had six children—Ira, John Harris, Dorothy Helen, Donald Conyers, James and Hilda. The family produced cotton, corn, hay, cattle, horses and mules on the farm.
In 1965, John Harris Mount became the third generation to own the farm. He and his wife, Lavern Lucille McGarity, had three children. Today, these siblings, Johnny Max, Lynn Harris and Ann, are the owners of the property.
Currently, Ann and husband Glenn Stanley live on the farm and Lynn works the land, producing primarily cotton and soybeans. According to the family records, a large Cypress tree that was planted by Harris Noblin Mount’s daughter Mandy in 1880 still stands on the property today.
The Mount Farm is the 17th Crockett County farm to be certified as a Tennessee Century Farm, Hankins noted.
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, or obtain jpeg images of this farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.