[493] Sullivan County Farms Certified As Tennessee Century Farms

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

SULLIVAN COUNTY FARMS CERTIFIED AS TENNESSEE CENTURY FARMS
State Recognizes B & G, Fleenor and Morrell Farms for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)— Three farms in Sullivan County have been designated as Tennessee Century Farms, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation, which is located on the MTSU campus.
• John Alexander Latture and his wife, Francis Erwin, acquired 280 acres of farmland through the probation of his father’s will in 1880, making John Alexander at least the second generation of his family to own this property, the B & G Farm. The couple had 11 children and the family raised tobacco, corn, wheat, hay cattle, chicken and horses. John built a house for his large family in 1886 and it was the home place of the family for decades although the family no longer owns it.
Mary and Martha Latture, twin daughters of John Alexander and Francis, inherited about 48 acres in 1936. Neither woman married, but they reared their nephew and niece, T. H. and Vivian Pecktol, the children of their sister, Kate. Kate, studied at the Normal School (now ETSU) to be a teacher, but died in childbirth.
T. H. Pecktol purchased 17 acres from his aunts in 1964 and inherited another nine acres from them in 1983. He and wife Mayme were the parents of Jane, Nancy and Glen. Tobacco continued to be a primary crop with this generation.
Following the death of T. H., Mayme became the owner of the property in 1993. In 2008, Mayme was awarded a 50-year membership pin for being involved in the Home Demonstration Club.
Glen Pecktol and his wife Brenda became the owners of the farm in 2000. Glen is the great-grandson of John Alexander and Francis Latture. The Pecktols produce fescue orchard grass hay and have a cow/calf Angus operation. A livestock and hay barn built by John Alexander Latture continues to be used today.
The family reports that for the past 50 years, the Lattures have gathered every summer for a family reunion where they learn about and remember their history and enjoy good home cooking. Each September, a “Decoration Day” is held at the cemetery, with singing, a message from a local preacher, and a collection is taken to pay for the upkeep of the historic family burying ground.
• The Fleenor family traces its roots to Germany. In 1884, Joel Fleenor purchased 107 acres for the sum of $1,650. He and wife Mary Ann Clark were the parents of six children though four died as children. The two who survived, Margret Susannah and Washington “Wash,” lived to be 87 and 78 years old, respectively. Wash received 30 acres of the Fleenor Farm in 1899. He and wife Ida had five children, Charles, William, Jess, Myrtle and Thelma. They raised cattle, horses, corn, wheat and sheep.
The next owner was William Miller Fleenor. He first married Mable Cowan; they were the parents of Earl. By his second marriage to Rosa Shankle, William fathered Gale. In time, Gale purchased Earl’s share of the farm and raised livestock and rented some of the acreage for pasture.
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In 1970, Interstate 81 was routed through the farm taking several acres. Today, the owners of the farm, Gale, wife Alice Gammon and his mother Rosa, live on the land that has been in the Fleenor family for 126 years.
• Elbert Morrell received 143 acres willed to him from his father-in-law, Ireson W. Longacre, in 1891. His wife, Sally Longacre, and their eight children raised corn, wheat, ha, and cattle. One of their sons, Porter Lee Morrell, acquired 137 acres in 1947. He and wife Lena O’Dell and their two children continued to raise many of the same crops, adding swine and tobacco. They also made good use of a new barn built in 1946, which continues to be used today.
The third generation owner of Morrell Farm is Edward, son of Porter and Lena. He and his wife, Ruth Shuttle, and their son Jonathan and his family make their home on the farm. Edward and Jonathan raise cattle and hay.
“With the addition of these three farms, Sullivan County now has a total of 19 certified Century Farms,” 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 any of the owners of these farms, 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.