[380]STATEWIDE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES UNION COUNTY FARM FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 7, 2008
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

STATEWIDE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES UNION COUNTY FARM FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
100-Year-Old Tolliver Farm Becomes County’s Sixth Designated Century Farm

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Tolliver Farm in Union County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, announced Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms Program at the Center for Historic Preservation, which is located on the MTSU campus.
“Many Century Farms, over 60 percent, were either founded by a woman or have been owned by a woman in their history,” noted Hankins, who said this statistic includes Tolliver Farm, which was founded by Emily Tolliver on 60 acres near Maynardsville in 1908.
Prior to Tolliver’s ownership, the farm was originally part of a 1,629-acre land grant that was obtained by William Hamilton, one of the first settlers in Union County. During Hamilton’s ownership, a log house was built on this site and still stands on the property today. This house is the oldest home on its original building site in Union County, reported Bonnie Peters, Union County historian.
Founder Tolliver was a schoolteacher and never married. During her ownership, her younger brother George helped to operate the farm and they produced cotton, wheat, vegetables, cattle, geese, turkeys and chickens. After 11 years, Emily sold the farm to George. Prior to his ownership, George also ran a “rolling grocery store and hauling service,” because he had one of the few motorized vehicles in the community. Later, George opened the first grocery store in the community, which was located on the farm and operated until the later 1950s.
Described as an enterprising man, George ran a tomato cannery and sold tomatoes under the “Norris Dam Brand.” While managing the tomato cannery, George also provided employment for many young men in the surrounding community to work on his farm clearing the land, growing wheat, cotton vegetables and tending livestock. George married Martha Peralitine “Pearl” Regan and they had three children, George Harrison, Irene and Walter Regan.
After her father passed away, Irene Tolliver Hamilton inherited one-half of the acreage. She and her husband, Sam Hamilton, a descendant of William Hamilton, continued running the grocery for many years. In addition, they farmed and operated a dairy business. Some of the products that the farm produced during this time included milk, cream, tobacco, vegetables and beef cattle.
In 1987, Betty Hamilton Bullen, the daughter of Sam and Irene, who is also the great-niece of the founder, Emily Tolliver, and great-granddaughter of William Hamilton, became another generation of the family’s women to own the farm.
Today, Betty and husband Stanley W. Bullen live on the farm, as does her mother and Mr. and Mrs. Robert I. Hamilton, Betty’s brother and his wife.
Currently, beef cattle and hay are the primary products. A number of historic farm buildings are reminders of the long agricultural traditions of this farm. The oldest is the 1829 log house and others include a log crib dating from 1908, a smokehouse that was built in 1929 and a dairy/smokehouse from 1940. The foundation of the cannery also may still be seen.
“The Tolliver Farm is the sixth Century Farm to be certified in Union County,” 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 farm, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.