[237] Grundy County Farm Joins State's Century Farms Program

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

GRUNDY COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
Richland-Elk River Farm Recognized as County’s 7th Century Farm to Date

(MURFREESBORO)—The Richland-Elk River Valley Farm in Grundy 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.
In 1892, Richard Hudson Davidson founded a farm of just more than 44 acres in Burrough’s Cove on the Elk River. He and his wife, Elizabeth Hamby Davidson, had five children. On the farm, the family raised corn, hay, cattle and swine. A progressive farmer, Richard built a new house, in the Victorian style, a barn and a log corncrib around 1900 and created an extensive field drainage system using clay tile that helped to increase crop production.
Throughout his life, Richard continued to buy land to give all his children a farm of their own. This goal was not reached, however, because he suddenly died suddenly from pneumonia in 1917. At that time, Elizabeth assumed the responsibility for the family and the farm.
Louella, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth, and her husband, Vernon Bonner, were the next owners of the farm. They acquired 56 acres of the land from the other heirs in 1957. Vernon worked on the farm for around 20 years before gaining ownership. The Bonners were the parents of Verna Berlene, Carl Edwin, Martha Ann, Richard Dale and Brenda Joy. Vernon continued to purchase land during the Great Depression. Together, the family raised corn, cotton, hay, soybeans, wheat, cattle, chickens and swine and also were beekeepers.
This time period saw many changes to farm life. Horses were replaced by tractors and other machinery. The widespread use of hybrid seeds and herbicides increased farm yield. The open range, where cattle and swine had run, was fenced. Electricity, the telephone and a hard-surfaced road also became new additions to farm life, the family has noted.
Aside from farming, Vernon also helped build Camp Forrest, now known as Arnold Air Force Base in Tullahoma, during WWII. Here, German prisoners of war were kept. The soldiers stationed there were also leased out to work on farms in the area. Vernon and Louella were members of the Farm Bureau and Farmer’s Co-op. The University of Tennessee also designated this farm as a test-demonstration farm.
Richard D. Bonner, grandson of the founding couple, and his wife, Faye (Church) Bonner, are the current owners of the farm. Both were reared on farms and were active in 4-H, FFA and FHA during their school years. Their children, April “Addy” and Andy were also active members of the 4-H Club and raised lambs for show at the local, district and state levels.
Today, the Bonners farm 150 acres, 56 of which are part of the farm of Richard Davidson, and raise corn, hay, soybeans, wheat, cattle, chickens, and swine. Richard, a licensed pilot, has constructed a hanger and landing strip on the farm. He retired from the military after 25 years in the U. S. Navy and Army National Guard.
Richard and Faye are members of the Farm Bureau and Farmer’s Co-op. Richard served as a director and chairman of the Grundy County Farmer’s Bureau and Faye served as president of the Farm Bureau Women of Grundy County from 1976 to 1984. She continues to be active in the local Home Demonstration Club.
“The Richland-Elk River Valley Farm is the seventh Century Farm to be certified in Grundy County,” Hankins said.
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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.