[490] Williamson County Farm Certified As Tennessee Century Farm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 28, 2010
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947

WILLIAMSON COUNTY FARM CERTIFIED AS TENNESSEE CENTURY FARM
State Program Will Honor Cartwright Farm’s Owner During Aug. 12 County Fair

(MURFREESBORO)—The Cartwright Farm in Williamson 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.
South of Franklin is the farm founded by Benjamin Dotson in 1898. He and wife Ann—along with two of his brothers, Walter, who was married to Ella Presley, and Sylvester, whose wife was Minnie Pearl Gosey—shared ownership of the farm although only Ben was listed on the deed. The large extended family raised cows, horses, mules, chickens, hogs and goats, as well as many fruits and vegetables.
Walter and Ella , parents of seven children, eventually bought about 168 acres from Ben. Their daughter, Carolyn, and her husband, Thomas Burns, acquired the farm in 1961. With their four children, Sara, Carolyn, Angela and Martha, they raised tobacco, hay, turnip greens, hogs, cows, horses and mules.
The current owner of the farm is Martha Cartwright, who has owned the farm since 1980. Martha is actively engaged in the operations of the farm, where she lives, along with her daughter and grandson. Timber, burley tobacco, turnip greens and hogs are main products of this farm
Hankins said Martha Cartwright will be among the Century Farm owners who will be recognized at a special luncheon Aug. 12 as part of the Williamson County Fair, where farm families who have been certified since last year’s fair will be honored.


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.