[059]STATE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES HENRY COUNTY FARM FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 21, 2008
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

STATE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES HENRY COUNTY FARM FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
143-Year-Old Clendenin Legacy Farm Becomes County’s 19th Century Farm

(MURFREESBORO)—The Clendenin Legacy Farm in Henry County recently was 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.
Established at the end of the Civil War in 1865 by William Wright, the Clendenin Legacy Farm is located southeast of Paris and originally consisted of 109½ acres. William married Susan A. Barnes; the couple’s children were Elizabeth and Thyrza Jane.
In 1866, the Wrights’ son-in-law—John F. “Frank” Clendenin, husband of Thyrza Jane—acquired the property. The Clendenin couple had eight children, but three did not survive childhood. Thomas, the youngest died in 1881, and his mother died just two weeks later.
In 1883, John married again. He and wife E. A. Woods had two children, Mattie Bell and John Douglas. Cotton, tobacco, corn, sorghum, cattle, sheep and hogs were the primary products of the farm.
In 1887, Joseph Lewis Clendenin, the eldest of the surviving children of John and Thyrza, became the third generation to own the farm. At the time of his father’s death, some of the children were still minors, so Joseph and C. P. Caldwell bought the entire acreage of more than 300 acres to keep the estate within the family. In 1895, Joseph’s brother, William Wright Clendenin, became the owner of the property. William and wife Kate Johnson had four children: William Roy, Robert Ely, George David and Nelle. Then, in 1943, the Tennessee Valley Authority acquired 130 acres from the heirs of William Wright Clendenin.
George David “Dave” Clendenin inherited a portion of the farm at his father’s death and acquired other acreage through 1949. He was first married to Mildred Wimberley; they were the parents of David Lorraine Clendenin. His second marriage was to Beatrice Elaine Parker; they were the parents of children Betty C. Orr, George Jr., and Bertha Kate “Katie” C. Williams.
An active and progressive farmer, Dave Clendenin was the winner of the Commercial Bank Pasture Contest in 1949 for his permanent pasture. He was also featured on the March 1950 Commercial Bank & Trust Company folder about pastures. In addition to his farming recognitions, George was involved in establishing the Henry County Farmers Cooperative and served on the board for many years. During the 1950s, the farmhouse was selected as a showplace for modern electricity in a farm-home setting by the Board of Public Utilities.
The family reported that the farmhouse was featured in many publications during the ‘50s, including “The Parisian” newspaper, “The Paris Post-Intelligencer” and the “Farm and Ranch-Southern Agriculturist” magazine. Many of the light fixtures that were put in the home in the 1950s still are being used today.

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Today, the great-great-granddaughter of the founders, Katie Clendenin Williams, and husband Daniel own the property. Currently, Katie and Daniel raise cattle, donkeys and hay. In addition, they lease part of the land, which is used for row crops, including corn, wheat and soybeans.
In addition to the corncrib and barns, all dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is a potato house. The walls are 1 foot thick and filled with sawdust for storing potatoes and other root crops. The farmhouse has been updated and continues to contribute to the farm’s income as “Mammy and Pappy’s Bed and Breakfast.”
“The Clendenin Legacy Farm is the 19th Tennessee Century Farm to be certified in Henry County,” Hankins confirmed.
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 denoting 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 owner or request jpegs of the farm, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.