[236] White County Farm Joins State's Century Farms Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 17, 2009
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947

WHITE COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
Hutchings Farms Recognized as County’s 14th Century Farm to Date

(MURFREESBORO)—The Hutchings Farms in White 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.
The campground revivals of the first half of the 19th century and Hutchings College, founded in 1900, are part of the story of the farm purchased Alexander Barclay in 1853.
Born in Rutherford County, N.C., in 1819, Barclay came into White County with his wife, Nancy Catherine Nelson (1821-1895), and established a farmstead on 350 acres. With their six children, they cleared the land and produced a variety of crops and livestock. A religious man, Alexander held campground revivals on his land to which families traveled from miles around. During the Civil War, he was killed as he returned from a trip to Kentucky and was buried in an unmarked grave.
The second-generation owners were the founders’ daughter and son-in-law, Ammon and Catherine Barclay Hutchings. In 1882 they acquired about 200 acres, where they and their eight children continued to raise all types of livestock. While rearing their children, the Hutchings made a home for their respective mothers and assisted their son, Ransom, in founding Hutchings College around 1900.
At 15, Ransom received some education in White County, but reportedly also self-taught himself enough to surpass the knowledge of his instructors at Pleasant Hill. After a short time span teaching trigonometry, he decided to return to White County and open his own school, which served as a boarding school for boys and girls in search of better education paid. Students paid their tuition by working on the farm, which, in turn, provided food for the school.
Ransom also operated a sawmill that supplied the lumber for the 75-room school, along with a three-story girls’ dormitory and a two-story dorm for the boys—all of which rooms were fully furnished. Ransom’s wife, Emma Davis Hutchings, worked at the school and was in charge of cooking meals for all students and faculty.
Though the school closed in 1923, Ransom remained interested in education, serving as the White County School superintendent. In the 1920s, he was elected to serve as a state representative for four terms, and later, he was elected to serve as a state senator for one term. He continued to farm and also to operate the sawmill during the Depression and World War II, when he “provided sawed lumber for gun stock,” the family reported.
In 2006, Ransom I. Hutchings was recognized by The Expositor as Citizen of the Bicentennial for “his generous contribution to White County and all mankind.”
The fourth owners of the farm were two of Ransom and Emma’s children, Tillman and Marie. While in high school, Tillman won the National FFA contest in

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public speaking with his speech titled “Why Educate the Farmer?” Following his father’s example, he was elected state representative of White County. He and his wife, Christine Jones, had three children and they owned and operated a department store in Sparta for 50 years.
Marie Hutchings Howard became a caretaker for many relatives in her family while also having a 36-year career in banking. Active in her community as well, she is a member of many clubs, including the Rock House Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and a volunteer for community activities.
Today, the ownership of the farm rests with Marie Howard and Donald Hutchings, Tillman’s son. Marie inherited 200 acres and Donald purchased 50 acres; 85 of this total 250 acres are from the original farmland of Alexander and Nancy Barclay.
Currently, Marie’s son, DeWayne Howard, works the farm and raises hay and livestock. Although the school and college buildings no longer exist, the sawmill is still in excellent shape and is the site of the family’s gatherings. The family cemetery on the land remains intact and includes a memorial marker for the founder, Alexander Barclay. “This is the 14th Century Farm to be certified in White 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.
“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 this historic farm’s owners or secure jpegs of the farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.





With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.