[122]STATE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES WHITE COUNTY FARM FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 29, 2008
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

STATE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES WHITE COUNTY FARM FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
170-Year-Old Russell Farm is County’s 15th Century Farm, Hankins Reports

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Russell Farm in White 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.
The Russell Farm, just south of Sparta, dates to 1838 when W. J. Molloy and wife Mary Lewis Molloy founded the property. On 122 acres, the Molloys produced cattle, horses, hogs, corn and garden vegetables. While managing the farm, W. J. was one of the first trustees of Fraser’s Chapel Methodist Church. Family history records that Mary’s father, Maj. William Lewis, fought with Washington at Valley Forge and was taken prisoner; her father fought in the War of 1812; and her brother, James Madison Lewis, was killed in the Civil War
The Molloys, who had no children, deeded the land to Mary’s nephew, Tandy Lane Lewis, in 1874. He and wife Tennie had nine children. Although Tandy became the owner of the farm, W. J. continued to help farm the land and raise cattle, hogs and horses. In 1882, Tandy became sheriff of White County and gave back the farm to W. J. and Mary.
In 1894, the farm was bequeathed to Mary’s niece, Emily “Emma” Lewis Russell, and her husband, William Matthew Russell. Emma and William had eight children: Walter T., Oscar B., Emmitt E., Mattie, W. Byron, Famie, Horace L. and Maurine. Four years after they acquired the property, Emma’s father, Thomas Lewis, gave the couple an additional 110-acre farm that adjoined the Molloy Farm. The property had a large
Log house on it and the family moved to this dwelling.
In 1926, William and Emma sold the Molloy portion of the farm to son Oscar Russell and his wife, Bessie Haston Russell, who lived in Akron, Ohio, at the time. The family recounted that while Oscar and Bessie were in Ohio, a moonshine still was built in a wooded area near the farm. While managing the farm, William Matthew often took time out to drink some of the whiskey that was being produced at the still. One day when he saw his wife coming, William put the quart of moonshine in a posthole where some men were building a fence. Later that night, it rained and washed dirt into the postholes. The next morning, William Matthew could not remember in which hole he had placed the moonshine, and soon the men put the posts in and built the fence. The family reported the quart of moonshine is probably still under one of the fence posts.
In 1931, with the economic hardships of the Great Depression, Oscar and Bessie Russell moved to the farm. They constructed a two-room house with a cellar and a large barn from timber that was felled on the farm. Eight years later, the couple built a second and larger house that is used as the residence for the Russell family today. Oscar and Bessie raised cattle, hogs, corn, sweet potatoes and tobacco. Oscar served in the U.S. Navy during World War I. He lived to be 102 years old and, prior to his death in 1993, he received a medal honoring him for being a 75-year veteran of World War I.
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After Bessie and Oscar passed away, the farm went jointly to their children, Emma Russell Boyd and Oscar Paul Russell. Emma married Tudor Boyd and they had two children, Janet Boyd Hill and Karen Boyd Henry. Paul married Virginia Russell, and their two children are Paula Russell Polk and Mark R. Russell. Paul and Emma kept the farm in operation until 2004 when they sold it to Mark and his wife, Susan. Currently, the farm is worked by Mark, Susan and family in partnership with Paul. The Russell family mainly raises cattle and hay on their family farm.
Hankins said the Russell Farm is the 15th Century Farm to be certified in White County.
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 owners or request jpegs for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.