185 STATEWIDE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES HAMBLEN COUNTY FARM FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 13, 2007
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

STATEWIDE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES HAMBLEN COUNTY FARM FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
101-Year-Old Baker Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Baker Farm in Hamblen 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.
Located near Russellville, this piece of land is where part of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet’s Confederate army camped during the winter of 1863 to guard Cain’s Mill and Three Springs Road. Also running across this property is evidence of an ancient animal trail called Taylor’s Trace that was used by early explorers and settlers coming into what is now Hamblen County. It is on this land that the Baker Farm was established in 1906, according to the family’s records.
George A. Cope and his wife, Mary Davidson, and their two daughters, Alice Elizabeth and Mary Ethel, raised cattle, sheep, corn, hogs and chickens on 144 acres. Mary Ethel, married to Howell Baker, acquired the property in 1958. With their three children, Joana, Robert and Larry, the Bakers produced cattle, hay, poultry and hogs.
In 1985, the grandson of the founder, Larry Baker, inherited the property. Today, he continues to own and work the land. Currently, the farm mainly produces beef cattle. The founders and other members of the Baker family are buried in the Bethesda Cemetery.
Hankins said the Baker Farm is the 20th Hamblen County farm to be certified as a Century 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 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 the farm’s owners, or to obtain jpegs for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.