[347] SMITH COUNTY FARMS JOIN STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 25, 2009
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

SMITH COUNTY FARMS JOIN STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
Three Tennessee Farms Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—Three Smith County farms, now owned by the Gregory family, have been designated as a Tennessee Century Farms, reported Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms Program at the Center for Historic Preservation, which is located on the MTSU campus.
Located in the Beasley Bend community, three farms established over a 50-year period—in 1842, 1853 and 1892—have histories that connect the Culbreath, Taylor and Gregory families, Hankins said.
• Two farms, Gregory Hill and Locust Hill, trace their origins to Rozeatta Overby Culbreath, who moved from Mecklenberg, Va., in the 1830s. In 1836, she purchased 100 acres from Ellis Beasley for $534 with money given to her by her parents. Married to John Culbreath, the couple was the parents of James H. Minerva, Mary Jane, Emma, Lafayette, Amanda, Hezekiah and Nancy Ann. When John Culbreath failed to make the payments on the farm, it was sold, but repurchased by Rozeatta in 1842. With the deed in her name and that of her children, Rozeatta managed the farm and lived there until her death in 1882.
The history of Gregory Hill Farm continues with the daughter of James H. Culbreath, Caroline Cornelia Culbreath Overby who married Rufus A Taylor. Taylor acquired the farm in 1895. He and Caroline were the parents of four children. She died in 1900, leaving four small children, Julius, Irene, Ophelia and Carrie Dee, whom their father reared.
In 1923, daughters Carrie Dee Taylor Rigsby and Ophelia Taylor Kenney inherited the property from their father. During these years the family produced tobacco, hay and cattle. Carrie married Duffy Gregory, who purchased Ophelia’s interest in the property in 1960 and also purchased from his stepdaughters their interest in their mother’s estate.
• In 1975, the sons of Carrie and Duffy Gregory—Billy, Bobby and Larry— inherited their father’s interest in the farm and the farm across the road known as BG Farm. In 1985, Billy purchased the farm from his brothers. Billy and wife Grace had three sons, Tommy, David and Richard.
Today, David, the great-great-great-grandson of the founders, and his wife, Melissa, own Gregory Hill Farm and raise tobacco, cattle, corn and hay.
Locust Hill Farm descends from Rozeatta and John Culbreath’s son, James H. Culbreath. James, a veteran of the Mexican War, acquired 98 acres in 1853. On the 98 acres, he and his family raised tobacco and cattle.
According to the family, James donated a half-acre to the 3rd school district in 1877. In 1900, the founder’s daughter, Caroline Cornelia Culbreath Overby Taylor and her husband Rufus A. Taylor became the owners of the farm; the same year that Cornelia died. In 1923, their son, Julius, obtained the property. He owned the land until
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1975, when his children Ray Taylor, Joyce Taylor Bell and Marguerite Taylor Allen became the fourth generation to own the farm. In turn, Billy and wife Grace, along with their children, Tommy and David, leased the farm and raised tobacco, cattle, hogs and hay.
Today, the great-great-grandson of the founder, David Gregory, and wife Melissa own this farm. David and his children, Daniel, Amber and Austin, work the land and raise tobacco, cattle, hay and corn. A two-story house that Julius Taylor described as being at least 100 years old in the 1960s, is partly log and may date from the time of founder, James H. Culbreath.
• A third property, BG Farm, was founded in 1892 by Rufus A. Taylor. His parents, Joseph J. and Polly Nickson Taylor, sold him 32 acres. Tobacco and cattle were the primary products of the farm.
Hankins said the fourth child of Rufus and wife Carolina Culbreath Overby, Carrie Dee, inherited a half acre of the property in 1923. Married twice, Carrie Dee Taylor Rigsby Gregory, had three girls with her first husband and three boys with her second husband, Duffy Gregory.
Over time, Carrie’s husband, Duffy, paid the girls for their part of the land and also purchased his sister-in-law’s part of the farm as well as the property across the road that is now owned by David Gregory. In 1985, Billy Gregory, the great-grandson of the founder, and his wife, Grace, obtained the property.
Billy has cultivated all three century farms for his entire life and continues to actively farm today along with his son and grandchildren, raising tobacco, cattle and hay. In addition, Billy is a Korean War veteran and owns the Smith County Commission Company that serves as the Livestock Market for the county.
“These three farms join 51 other certified Century Farms in Smith County,” Hankins noted.

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 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, noting 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. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state and all 95 counties are represented.
“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 request an interview with the farm’s current owners or secure a jpeg of the farm for editorial use, please contact Caneta Hankins at 615-898-2947.