[194]HAWKINS COUNTY FARM RECEIVES PIONEER CENTURY FARM DESIGNATION

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


HAWKINS COUNTY FARM RECEIVES PIONEER CENTURY FARM DESIGNATION
219-Year-Old Rolling Acres Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—Rolling Acres Farm in Hawkins County has been designated as a Tennessee Pioneer 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.
Pioneer Century Farms are a new category that further recognizes farms that were founded prior to or in the year 1796 when Tennessee became a state.
“The farms that have been designated Pioneer Century Farms are among the most significant historic places in the state,” Hankins explained, “and the founders and heirs of these family farms represent the pioneer spirit of the state and nation.” Between the late 1700s and World War II, the innovations of progressive farming transformed Rolling Acres Farm into one of East Tennessee’s most modern agricultural operations. Established by John and Winnie Grigsby in 1789, Rolling Acres Farm is located six miles southeast of Rogersville. The Grigsbys produced many types of farm commodities, including flax and fruit in addition to the standard crops and livestock of East Tennessee. They also donated land for the construction of the Grigsby School, a place where their seven children could receive a rudimentary education. James David Grigsby was born in 1752 to John Grisgsby, a private in John Willis's company during the Revolutionary War. He married Winfred Breeding and moved to Hawkins County, which was then in the State of North Carolina, and purchased 200-plus acres of land on the south side of the Holston River on July 28, 1789. The couple had 13 children, but son Nathaniel Grigsby inherited the family’s 250 acres in 1859 and tilled the land for the next four decades. Nathaniel married Elizabeth Lauderback and they had one son, James David Grigsby.
James married Frances Gulley, and in 1899, their daughter, Lucy Anne, and her husband, Louis M. Arnott, acquired the property. Although the family planted the proven crops of East Tennessee, they also included honey, lye soap and turkeys among their agricultural products. They remember that “with the development of the tractor, farm plow and other tools, man’s work was made easier” and farm operations became more efficient. Edgar N. Arnott, the founders’ great-grandson, acquired all 250 acres of the family land by 1949. Serving as the director of the county co-op and as a member of other agricultural and civic organizations, Edgar was an innovative farmer who was among the first in Hawkins County to electrify his farming operations and who instituted artificial breeding to improve his large dairy-farming operations.


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Edgar Arnott died in 1976 and willed his land to wife Jewel Odom Arnott. Jewel was also active in several agricultural and civic organizations and was president of the Hawkins County Home Demonstration Club Council. Today, their daughter, Mary Lucille Arnett Ryan, who married Frederick D. “Rip” Ryan, owns the farm. Together, the couple ran a dairy until it ceased operations in 1989 when they converted to beef.
Rip and Lucille had five children: Bridget, Frederica, Beth, Etta and Tim. Since Mr. Ryan’s death in 1997, Mrs. Ryan has continued to be involved in the management of the farm, along with son Timothy Arnott Ryan.
“This farm is one of six farms in Hawkins County that are designated as Pioneer Century Farms,” Hankins noted. “The others are the Beal Farm, Campbell Acres Farm, Long Meadow Farm, Valley Breeze Farm and Circle J Farm.”


About the Century Farms Program

The Century Farms 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, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.