[48] Sumner County Farm Joins Ranks of State's Century Farms Program

For Release: Aug. 16, 2011
Contact: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947


SUMNER COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

Hidden Springs Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

MURFREESBORO— Hidden Springs Farm, located in Sumner 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 at MTSU.
The Century Farms Program recognizes the contributions of Tennessee residents who have owned and kept family land in continuous agricultural production for at least 100 years.
In 1847, Asa Purdue sold his brother, Matthew, a 193 acre farm for $800. By 1849, however, Asa Perdue purchased the farm back from his brother for $850 and retained the property through the end of the Civil War. Asa and his wife, Elizabeth Webb Perdue, were the parents of seven children.
In 1865, Asa Perdue deeded 118 acres of the original farm to his daughter, Rebecca, who was married to Thomas C. Hunter. In 1906, their son, Thomas J. Hunter, sold the acreage he had acquired from his family to his sons, Newton and James Hunter. Newton and his wife, Mittie, then bought the section of the farm owned by James.
Newton and Mittie Hunter farmed the land for more than 30 years. After Newton’s death, Mittie deeded the farm to her oldest daughter, Alma, in 1946. Alma was married to Odis White, and they were the parents of a son, Bobby. After Odis and Bobby died, Alma White sold the farm to her only granddaughter, Melanna Costner, in 2000. Melanna and her husband, Michael, own 80 acres of the original farmstead and lease the crop land to Joel Cook of Franklin, Ky. who grows corn, soybeans and tobacco. Melanna and Michael’s daughter and son-in-law, Jesse and Joey High, own a five-acre tract of the farm and live there with their children.
Three generations now live on this farm, which has been in the family for more than 160 years. Hidden Springs Farm is the 27th Century Farm certified in Sumner County.
Since 1984, the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU has been a leader in the important work of documenting Tennessee’s agricultural heritage and history through the Tennessee Century Farm Program.
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit www.tncenturyfarms.org. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132 or 615-898-2947.

• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview the farm’s owner or request jpegs of the farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP at 615-898-2947.



Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. In September 2011, MTSU will celebrate its 100th year anniversary with special events and activities throughout the year—kicked off by a Blue-Tie Centennial Gala on Friday, Sept. 9.