[471] STATEWIDE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES DICKSON COUNTY FARM’S CONTRIBUTIONS

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

STATEWIDE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES DICKSON COUNTY FARM’S CONTRIBUTIONS
Dull Farm Brings County’s Tennessee Century Farms Total to 21

(MURFREESBORO)—The Dull Farm in Dickson 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.
Located about four-and-a-half miles east of Charlotte, the Dull Farm was founded in 1885 by Jobe Pritchett Doty II and Mary Elizabeth Morris Doty. Although the couple had 11 children, four of them died at birth. The children who survived were William C., Allen R., William O., John C., Sallie A., Mary F. and Margaret A. Jobe died in 1898, and in 1910, Mary Elizabeth Doty married Benjamin Franklin Sensing. They were the parents of William Thomas, Drury W., Marion J., Hilda and Joseph B. The farm was divided among these several children.
Over the years, the many descendents of the founders have contributed to Dickson County in various capacities. Among the family is the late Walter “Buck” Work, former Dickson County Schools superintendent and state representative, who was the son of William Burr and Mary Florence Doty Work.
In 1977, the great-grandson of the founder, Bobby “Wynn” Corlew, became the owner of the farm. He is the son of James Weatherston Corlew and Vera Pearl Work Corlew. He recalls the Dull General Store that adjoined the farm on Highway 49 and remembers the house he calls home being built. Corlew learned to both ride mules and horses and use them to work the land.
He and his wife, Dorothy Owen Corlew, attended Charlotte Elementary and Charolette High School and were married in 1961. Wynn worked at the E. I. Dupont plant in Old Hickory and retired from there after 35 of service. After retiring, Wynn and Dorothy moved back to Charlotte from Hermitage and purchased the farm.
Wynn and Dorothy have one son, Burton Scott Corlew. Burton, his wife Veronica Bradley Corlew, and their daughter, Gracee May, also have a home located on the farm. Currently, the family raises hay and produce.
The Dull Farm is the 21st Tennessee Century Farm to be certified in Dickson 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 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.


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“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.