[469] STATEWIDE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES SUMNER COUNTY FARM’S CONTRIBUTIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 18, 2009
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

STATEWIDE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES SUMNER COUNTY FARM’S CONTRIBUTIONS
Martin Homestead Brings County’s Tennessee Century Farms Total to 25

(MURFREESBORO)—The Martin Homestead in Sumner County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation, which is located on the MTSU campus.
On Oct. 6, 1876, John W. Martin and Martha E. Mayes Martin founded a farm of 106 acres northeast of Portland in the Sengtown community. The couple had three children, Rennie Martin Hobdy, Evalena Martin Perdue and Homer O. Martin. The family raised corn, wheat, tobacco, cattle, horses, chickens and hogs and “held wheat thrashings and hog killings on the farm.”
John and Martha were active in the organization of Antioch Baptist Church, founded in 1876 just a mile from the farm and which is still in existence today.
The second generation to own the farm was Evalena Martin Perdue, who obtained the property in September 1904. Evalena and her husband, William Brodie Perdue, were the parents of Evelyn Martin Perdue Brown. Brodie continued farmed the land and the family raised corn, wheat, tobacco, horses, milk cows and chickens. Brodie and Evalena also made some improvements and changes to the farm, including “a regulation-size croquet yard at the edge of a wooded area where men came from far and near to play.”
They also made improvements to the farmhouse, which was an enclosed dogtrot, by installing carbide lighting and adding telephone service when it became available. Additionally, they erected a water tank on a platform at the back of the house to catch rainwater and provide running water for the kitchen sink. A cistern was built on the north side of the house to keep food cool.
In 1955, Evelyn Martin Perdue Brown acquired the property. Like her mother, she was born in the farmhouse. She married Carey Wilson Brown and they had three children; namely, Loretta Carolyn, also born in the family home, Tessa Marilyn and Deborah Kay. On the 126 acres, the family raised soybeans, tobacco, strawberries, grain, corn, milo, milk cows and chickens.
A three-room house, built for Evelyn and Carey, was purchased by the U. S. Army in 1942 and used as a barracks for during World War II. Electricity was run to the house in 1948 and a telephone was installed in 1950. Evelyn and Carey were also very active in the community. Following family tradition, they were both members of Antioch Baptist Church, where Carey served as music director and Evelyn was church treasurer. In addition, Evelyn was a member of the Oak Grove Neighbor Home Demonstration Club from 1983 until her death in 2006. She also was a member of the Sumner County Farm Bureau.
In 1992, Shawn A. Utley, the son of Tessa Marilyn Utley acquired a parcel of land from his grandmother, Evelyn and built a house where he and his wife, Leanne, and their sons, Caelum and Caeson live. Caelum, the great-great-great grandson of the founders is a member of the 4-H club at Watt Hardison Elementary School. In 2008, Shawn was elected to serve District 2 on the Board of County Commissioners of Sumner County.
In 2007, Carolyn Dye and Tessa Marilyn Utley each obtained acreage of the original homestead, becoming co-owners of the farm. Over the years, they have been active in the community and agricultural-related organizations. Loretta Carolyn Dye has been a member of the Oak Grove Neighbor FCE Club since 1984 and sang with the FCE Chorus. She is also on the Portland Senior Citizens Board of Directors, where she serves as secretary.

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Tessa Marilyn was a member of the 4-H Club in her elementary schools years as was her daughter, Sharilyn. Marilyn also served on the City of Portland Board of Alderman in 2002-2003 to fill her late husband’s chair. In addition, Marilyn served as a clerk and pianist for the Antioch Baptist Church.
Mike Stratton currently manages the farm for the family and raises corn and soybeans. The original Martin farmhouse, the barracks house, a tobacco barn and a stock barn remain standing.
Hankins said the Martin Homestead is the 25th Century Farm to be certified in Sumner County.

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