[465] Macon County Farm Joins State's Century Farms Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 11, 2010
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947

MACON COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
213-Year-Old Carr Creek Carr Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)— The Carr Creek Carr Farm in Macon 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 1797, just a year after Tennessee became a state, Daniel Alexander purchased 320 acres of land from George Pirtle in what was then Sumner County; Macon County was formed in 1842. He and his wife, Rachel Mauphet, had 10 children. Their daughter, Margaret “Peggy” married James Carr, who acquired the farm in 1837. This couple had nine children.
The third owner was John N. Carr. He and his wife, Martha Alice Carter, received 65 acres of the original farm. With their six children, they raised hay, corn, cattle and hogs on the farm on Carr Creek. Their son, Daniel “Tucker” Carr acquired 65 acres in 1894. His wife, Julia, also a Carr, had six children.
The generations of family ownership continued through the 20th century until the current owner, Ida Francis Carr Tucker and husband Louie, acquired the farm in 1992.
The Tuckers have two daughters, Cynthia Carol and Dana Lynn, and farm about 40 acres of the original Alexander farm, along with other acreage. Louie, retired from the Tri-County Electric Cooperative, manages the farm and raises hay and cattle.
“The farmhouse, tobacco barn and feed barn, along with the family cemetery, are important parts of the landscape,” 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, 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.