[393]PROGRAM RECOGNIZES ROBERTSON COUNTY FARM FOR AG. CONTRIBUTIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 15, 2008
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

PROGRAM RECOGNIZES ROBERTSON COUNTY FARM FOR AG. CONTRIBUTIONS
Clinard Farm Becomes County’s Newest Designated Century Farm

(MURFREESBORO)—The Clinard Farm in Robertson County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reported Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms Program at the Center for Historic Preservation, which is located on the MTSU campus.
Between 1819 and 1830, Joseph Clinard received several four Tennessee land grants and through other acquisitions, he eventually obtained 500 acres. He and his wife, Sarah “Sally,” had six children: Joseph Washington, Sanford, Brown C., Matilda, Elizabeth and Wiley. The family raised cattle, sheep, horses and chickens along with corn and wheat. Over the years, Joseph sold portions of his acreage to his sons, Brown, Sanford and Wiley and each one established homesteads. Joseph’s oldest son, Washington, also purchased a large tract of land in the same vicinity and his daughters married local farmers in the community.
In addition to obtaining 99 acres from his father in 1845, Brown C. Clinard purchased additional acreage and eventually accumulated around 300 acres of land. His first wife was Nancy Paralee Rawls and they were the parents of Benjamin Boyd and Nancy Evaline. In 1861, Brown joined the 30th Tennessee Infantry Regiment of the Confederate States of America. During the Battle of Fort Donelson in February 1862, Brown was captured and sent to Camp Butler, a Union prison in Springfield, Ill., where he died on March 30, 1862.
In 1865, Brown’s estate was dispersed to his second wife and widow, Eliza, and to his son and daughter from his first marriage. Benjamin wed Sallie Wilkinson in 1879 and they had five children. Benjamin built a farmhouse, a large livestock barn and a corncrib. Cattle, horses, mules, swine and chickens were raised by the Clinards, who also grew corn, wheat, sorghum and tobacco.
In 1919, Benjamin died and his farm was inherited by his four surviving children, Paul, Garland, Jones and Jessie Lee. Paul Clinard inherited the portion of the farm with the house, livestock barn and farm outbuildings. Paul married Floyce, but they had no children. In 1945, Paul sold his tract to Robin Earl Bowie, the oldest son of Jessie Lee and her husband, John Willie Bowie, and the grandson of Benjamin Boyd Clinard.
Robin and wife Thelma farmed the land until Thelma passed away in 2001 at age 91. Robin and Thelma’s son, Robin Paul Bowie, and his wife, Carol, purchased the adjacent farm in 1994. While managing the farm, Robin also worked with the Soil Conservation Service. On the farm, they raised beef cattle, wheat, alfalfa and native warm-season grasses. Robin Paul and Carol had two children, Jeffrey Warren and Jamie Bowie.
Over the years, Jeff and Jamie were very active in 4-H and FFA, showing a variety of beef cattle, sheep and horses at fairs and other agricultural related events. Jeff graduated with a degree in soil conservation/agriculture and followed his father’s footsteps by taking a job as a natural resources conservationist in Maury County. Jamie graduated with a degree in mass communication, with a concentration in magazine journalism, from MTSU and created the Busy Bee Antique Trader, a monthly antique magazine for the southeast.
In 2005, Jeffrey Warren Bowie and Jamie Bowie Dudiak received a portion of the original family farm. The original Clinard house and farm buildings were included in the part of the farm given to Jamie. After trying to restore the old homestead, the family reported that she and her husband regretfully decided to tear down the late 1800s farmhouse and build a new one.
Today, the family farm mainly operates as the B & W Cattle Company, which specializes in Angus/Simmental beef, and portions of the farm are set aside for wildlife conservation. The Clinard, Warren and Dudiak families continue the tradition of farming that began with their ancestors nearly 190 years ago yet also strive to study, learn and implement best practices in agriculture as they face the demands of farming in the 21st century.
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.


—30—



ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview the farm’s owner or request a jpeg of the Century Farm metal sign that is placed on designated properties, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.