[204]STATE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES THREE DYER COUNTY FARMS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 18, 2008
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

STATE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES THREE DYER COUNTY FARMS FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Gauldin Farm, Webster Farm & Jones Hill Farm Named as Tennessee Century Farms

(MURFREESBORO)—Three Dyer County farms, dating from 1847 to 1891, have been designated as a Tennessee Century Farms, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation, which is located on the MTSU campus.
• Michael O. B. Gauldin founded The Gauldin Farm. According to Goodspeed’s History of Dyer County, Gauldin, who was of Irish descent, was educated at Hampden Sidney College in the Virginia town of the same name that was founded in 1775. Gauldin and wife Margaret were married in 1821. They and their 11 children farmed in Virginia before moving to Dyer County in 1847. The family raised tobacco, corn and cattle on 1,100 acres.
The next generation to own the land was their son, John William Gauldin. Married twice, he fathered seven children. Goodspeed’s history of this family also mentions John’s Civil War record. He enlisted in Company F of the 22nd Tennessee infantry.
During his enlistment, “He was captured near Gallatin and taken to Louisville, where he was held five weeks, then removed to Nashville and eventually was paroled,” according to the family’s records. Two months later, he joined the cavalry under General Bell and served as provost until spring 1864 and then was transferred to the Bull brigade, where he was engaged in receiving provisions for the army until the end of the war.
Today, the property is owned by the founders’ great-great-grandchildren, John E. Gauldin, John Michael Gaulding and Kathy Gauldin Robertson. The land currently is worked by Tom Davis and Glen Davis, who grow cotton, corn, wheat and beans on the farm.
• The Webster Farm was established in 1887 when James Martin Webster acquired 82 acres of land near the town of Friendship. Married to Martha A. Gentry, the couple had three children. The family raised cotton, corn, hay, fruits, vegetables, cattle and hogs.
After James Martin passed away, his son, James Carson “Burley” Webster, received one-third of the acreage and eventually purchased the remaining land from the other heirs. James wed Effie Elizabeth Bills and they had four children—James Comer, Maie Fair, David Franklin and Edith Augusta.
Burley Webster purchased additional acreage and the farm increased to 317 acres. The family reports that they were part of a 13-family neighbor, known as the “Beef Club,” that provided beef to all of the families. Each neighbor would bring cattle to the Webster Farm to process and divide the meat among the families. Effie Webster made soap, quilts, sewed clothes and washed them with a gasoline-powered machine.
In addition to his farm work, Burley served as the Dyer County Court Magistrate for District 1 for 22 years. He also was active in the Dyer County Farm Bureau. He died in June 1947 and his widow continued to live on the farm until 1978.
The third generation to own the property was Franklin Webster. He purchased some of the property from his parents in 1941 and eventually obtained more of the acreage over the years. Franklin and wife Virginia raised cotton, corn, soybeans, hay, pasture grasses, milo, cattle, hogs and chickens. In addition to helping with the livestock and crops, Virginia also cooked for field hands as well as her family.
Kenneth and Donald Webster, sons of Franklin and Virginia, inherited tracts in 2006 following their mother’s death. Don, married first to Alice Faye Smith, is the father of Brad and Bart Webster. With his second wife, Julia Wilson Johnson, he gained two stepdaughters, Robin and Kara. Don worked at the Bank of Friendship and retired as its president. Bart Webster currently lives in his grandmother’s house.
Kenny and his wife Martha Bivens built their home on the farm in 1967-68. They are the parents of Lori Leigh and Beth Alison. Kenny was a science teacher for 39 years, most of which were spent at Dyersburg Middle School. Per the family, Martha and Kenny always had a large vegetable and flower garden and they “put up food” for the winter. Martha passed way in 2001 and Kenny, who retired from teaching in 2002, lives on the farm and continues to have a flower and vegetable garden.
Today, Kenny Webster manages the farm and a neighbor works about 65 acres of cotton. Kenny, however, takes care of the 74 acres that are in the Conservation Reserve program. He constructed a mile-long nature trail through the Conservation Reserve area and invites church, school and scout groups to walk the trail.
• Located two miles east of Dyersburg is the Jones Hill Farm that was founded in 1891 by Samuel Hall Jones and Mary Jane Vaden Jones, who had nine children. On just under 200 acres the family raised wheat, corn, cotton, beef cattle and hogs.
According to the family, Samuel traveled by wagon and four mules to Hickman, Ky., to deliver grain and salt pork along with other farm merchandise. Each time he returned from his trips, he brought back some necessities they did not grow, raise or make on the farm. On one occasion, he returned with a new kitchen range. The family remembers that many neighbors from the surrounding area came to see this marvel when it was first brought to the farm.
Isaac Wesley Jones, son of Samuel and Mary, acquired the land in 1896. Married first to Florence Jane Sawyer and then to Maidie Ferguson, he fathered 14 children. In addition to managing the farm on which cattle, hogs, mules, corn, cotton and wheat were raised, Isaac owned land in Dyersburg, where his family lived and where he operated a slaughterhouse and meat market. He was also one of the first to own a steam engine and thrashing machine in the area. Isaac also rebuilt and expanded the log farmhouse that was constructed by his father, though it was destroyed by a tornado in 1952.
The farm passed through several generations, and today, it is owned by the great-granddaughter of the founder, Virginia Ann Jones Anderson. Currently, Ann, husband Eddie and their son, Jonathan, manage the farm and raise wheat, soybeans, grain, sorghum and corn.

About the Century Farms Program

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 of the farms, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.