[472] Perry County Farm Joins State's Century Farms Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 18, 2010
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947

PERRY COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
176-Year-Old Ayers/Starbuck Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—The Ayers/Starbuck Farm in Perry 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.
Daniel and Elizabeth Beeson Starbuck moved from North Carolina to Perry County following their marriage in 1822. They had three children who were born in their new home, two of whom survived to adulthood. Elizabeth died in 1826, leaving Daniel to rear their sons, Erastus and Darius. He married Nancy Shelton in 1831 and they were the parents of 12 children.
Daniel Starbuck founded the acreage now known as Ayers/Starbuck Farm in 1834 on 31 acres. In 1844, he added 30 acres to the original farm, and then another 130 acres in 1848 before adding 81 acres in 1849. In 1855, Daniel and Nancy and their children moved to Missouri. Only his two sons by his first wife stayed in Perry County.
Erastus acquired his father’s farm in 1855 and purchased more land adjoining the property to total 500 acres of farmland. He served with the Union Army and died in 1863. His widow, Mary Ann Starbuck, and their six children raised corn, hay and cattle. Eventually, the farm was divided among the heirs, with Daniel Starbuck, grandson of the founder, purchasing the shares of the others in 1874.
Daniel and wife Frances Eugenia Journey, along with their seven children, raised corn, hay, peanuts and cattle. By this time, the family reports, the farm had expanded to 1,600 acres. Aside from farming, Daniel was also a lumberman and served as president of the Perry County Bank. Frances Eugenia was the granddaughter of David Rice Harris, who in 1847 gave land for the establishment of Linden as the county seat of Perry County.
Ethel Elizabeth, a daughter of Daniel, was the next owner of the farm along with her husband, James Edward “Jim” Ayers. In 1906, after her father’s death, she purchased the farm from the other heirs. The couple continued to purchase land; during this time the farm included 1,920 acres. Jim and Elizabeth had five children and raised corn, hay, lespedeza, alfalfa, hogs and cattle.
In addition to working on the farm, Jim also worked as a lumberman, had real estate rental properties and was active in the community. A school, known as Upper Cypress Creek School, was built on the farm for grades 1-8. Later, the school became known as Ayers School.
After Ethel’s death in 1974, the 2,400-acre property was sold at auction. Frances Ruth Ayers, daughter of Jim and Frances, purchased 118 acres, which includes some of the original farm’s land. She, husband Jesse and their two children, Don Ayers Pope and Jessie Ruth Pope, raised hay.

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Today, Jessie R. Tiller and Don Ayers Pope, descendents of Daniel Starbuck, own the farm. They have 31 original acres of their ancestors’ land and the two-story farmhouse, built by Daniel around 1877, still stands. David Pope, son of Don Pope, raises hay on the same land that has been farmed by generations of his family for 176 years.
The Ayers/Starbuck Farm is the 13th Century Farm to be certified in Perry 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 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.