[416] STATEWIDE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES WASHINGTON COUNTY FARM’S CONTRIBUTIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 10, 2009
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

STATEWIDE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES WASHINGTON COUNTY FARM’S CONTRIBUTIONS
Lewis Family Farms Bring County’s Tennessee Century Farms Total to 22

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Lewis Family Farms in Washington County have 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.
• In 1880, Jasper Newton Lewis and Mary Watson Lewis founded a 150-acre farm 10 miles north of Jonesborough in the Harmony community. The couple had 11 children and they raised tobacco, mules, horses, cattle and feed grains.
The second generation to own the farm was the founder’s son, Everett Matthew Lewis, who obtained the property in 1909 following his father’s death. Lewis married Ola Kate Moore and they had 11 children. A self-sufficient farmstead, the family produced tobacco, chickens, hogs, cattle, feed grains, fruit trees and garden vegetables. The family also operated a gristmill, blacksmith shop and sugarcane mill for the production of sorghum molasses.
In 1973, Kathleen Lewis, the granddaughter of the founders, became the owner of the farm. The family said they remember that in the fall each year, friends, neighbors and relatives, as well as the congregation of the nearby Valley View Methodist Church, gathered for weeks at a time to make molasses.
In 1996, the great-grandson of the founding couple, Billy Joe Lewis, and his wife, Kathie, became the current owners of the farm. They are the parents of Kalen and Kara. Today, the family produces hay and beef cattle. A barn, a springhouse, a shed and a farmhouse that was built in 1921 and restored in 1996 by the current owners are part of the historic farmstead.
• The Lewis Family Farm II follows the same history until 1909 when Jasper and Mary’s son, Charles, became the owner of the farm. Charles fathered nine children and the family raised cattle, tobacco, chickens, corn and pigs.
In 1940, Charles’s son, Foy Lewis, became the owner of the farm. Foy’s children were Charlie, Don, Martha and Clarence. On 60 acres, the family produced tobacco, cattle, chickens, corn and pigs.
Bill Lewis and wife Anne became the owners of the farm in 1955. Currently, Bill and his son, Billy Joe Lewis, work the land and grow cattle, feed grains, hay and garden vegetables.
• A third family farm also originated with Jasper and Mary Lewis. The story of this farm changes in 1973 when a 20-acre parcel was divided between James Alvin Lewis and Evelyn Lewis Fulwiler.
James had four children—Michael, Sharon, Kathy and Steven. On 10 acres, the family raised cattle and hay. Evelyn had two children, Barbara and Mark. Like James’s parcel, the farm produced cattle and hay. In 1993, the great-grandson of the founder, Steven K. Lewis, and wife Konnie became the owners of the Lewis Family Farm III, where they live on 20 acres with their two sons, Matthew Lewis and Kary Gentry, and raise hay and horses.
The Lewis Family Farms the number of certified Century Farms in Washington County to 22, Hankins confirmed.
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

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