291 STATEWIDE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES HOUSTON COUNTY FARM FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 18, 2008
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

STATEWIDE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES HOUSTON COUNTY FARM FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Beard’s Triple H Farm Becomes County’s Newest Designated Century Farm

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Beard’s Triple H Farm in Houston 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, which is located on the MTSU campus.
In 1851, Henry Humphreys Halliburton founded a 320-acre farm in Houston County. Married to Mary Elizabeth Humphreys, the couple had four children. The family raised corn, wheat, hay, cattle, hogs, sheep, chickens and mules.
Hankins said that a story the family remembers is that Margaret Elizabeth “Maggie,” one of the founding couple’s two daughters, recalled “standing in their front yard and hearing the cannons from the gun boat battle at Fort Donelson in 1862.” During the Civil War, she also recalled that Union troops came to their house and stole chickens from the hen house and meat from the smokehouse while the family hid in an upstairs space between the two log rooms, watching through the chinking.
In 1879, Maggie became the second-generation owner. Married to William Hugh Griffin, she gave birth to nine children. The family continued to produce livestock, poultry, grains and hay. The Griffins were instrumental in organizing the Griffin’s Chapel Nazarene Church in the early 1900s, which was located adjacent to the farm.
Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Griffin Parchman acquired the property in 1915. Married to Guy Preston Parchman, their two daughters were Eunice O’Neil and Nannie Ether. Under the Parchmans, the farm diversified. They operated a small dairy farm but continued to raise hogs, goats, mules, chickens, corn and hay. The Parchmans also added a gristmill for grinding corn that served the residents of the community. They also operated a general store on the farm from 1916 until the late 1940s, selling groceries, hardware and dry goods.
In 1981, Eunice O’Neil Parchman acquired the land. She and husband Travis Elbert Beard had 10 children. The Beards were active in the Farm Bureau and farm supported a cow/calf operation and hay. Their son, Guy Terry, managed the farm.
In 1996, Guy Terry Beard became owner of the farm. He, wife Sue and their sons, Scott and Trevor, have been active in agricultural-related organizations. Scott and Trevor were members of the 4-H Club and both showed steers in Houston and Montgomery County Beef Shows. Terry and Sue are members of the Farm Bureau.
The farm currently is in hay and pasture and Angus cattle and chickens are the main products. The original log house that dates back to the founder’s ownership is still standing and several outbuildings including the smokehouse, a corn crib and a chicken house, are reminders of the traditions maintained by the men and women who have owned the Beard’s Triple H Farm for 157 years, Hankins said.
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 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 request jpegs of the property for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.