[171]STATE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES CROCKETT COUNTY FARM

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

STATE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES CROCKETT COUNTY FARM FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
100-Year-Old Goode Farm is County’s 19th Century Farm, Hankins Reports

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Goode Farm in Crockett 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.
On Oct. 27, 2008, the Goode Farm near Alamo will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Founded in 1908 by D. A. C. Goode and Elizabeth Moore Goode, the couple had nine children. On 56 acres, they produced cattle, hogs, corn, cotton and hay.
The second generation to own the farm was D. A. C. and Elizabeth’s son, Joseph E. Goode. He and his wife, Nettie Bell, were the parents of Annie Ellison, Garner Mack, Daisy Belle, Maggie, Frankie, Author Adell and Dolphus Lannie. The family continued to raise cattle, hogs, hay, cotton, corn and added strawberries.
On Oct. 12, 1942, son Garner Mack Goode and wife Mary Baker Goode purchased 24 acres from his parents. Only a few months later, in January 1943, he acquired the remaining acres from his brothers and sisters. Garner and Mary were the parents of twins, but tragically, daughter Maxine was thrown from a mule in October 1942 and died at age 7. Over the years, the couple and their son, Garner Mack Goode Jr., grew a variety of crops, including corn, cotton, hay, strawberries, squash and soybeans as well as cattle and hogs. Garner Sr. and Mary lived on and managed the farm until their deaths
In 1974, the great-grandson of the founder, Garner Mack Goode Jr., and his wife, Mary June, acquired the property. Their sons are Bobby, Garner and Crockett. Dean Speight currently works the farm that supports cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat.
The Goode Farm is the 19th Century Farm to be certified in Crockett 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 owners or request jpegs for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.