[220] Macon County Farm Joins Ranks of State's Century Farms Program

For Release: Jan 9, 2012
Contact: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947


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

Jenkins Sunny Slope Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—The Jenkins Sunny Slope Farm, located 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 at MTSU Tennessee State University.
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.
The Jenkins Sunny Slope Farm illustrates the difficulty some families face in proving that their farms are eligible for inclusion in the Century Farm program. Due to courthouse fires that occurred in several counties at different times, it can be a challenge for families to trace the deeds to their family farms.
While the Jenkins family has been in Tennessee since at least 1804, the first legal record of the family owning their Macon County farm is an 1874 tax receipt. In that year, James Daniel Kirby was taxed for his 62 acres in the 10th District. James raised soybeans, corn, hay, cattle and timber on his farm, which was located eight miles from Red Boiling Springs. James never married, so two nieces and a great-nephew acquired the farm after his death.
Amanda Fitzgerald, Texas Tennessee Jenkins, and Daniel Esley “D.E.” Jenkins acquired the farm between 1900 and 1910 and owned a total of 133 acres. During their ownership, the farm produced corn, soybeans, wheat, hogs, sheep, poultry, dairy cows, cattle, horses, hay and timber.
The children of D.E. and Susie Adeline Dyer Jenkins inherited the farm after the deaths of Susie, Texas Tennessee and Dixon Jenkins. The heirs, Hattie Irene Jenkins, Daniel Esley Doyle Jenkins and Thelma Flo Jenkins, raised corn, tobacco, wheat, soybeans, hogs, poultry, milk cows, cattle, horses, hay and timber on the farm. Hattie Irene Jenkins married Edward Kimball Johnson. They had no children. Thelma Flo Jenkins never married. Daniel Esley Doyle Jenkins married Verda Alline Moss, and their two children, Ann Jenkins Hall and Fran Jenkins Belt inherited the farm from their father and aunts between 1978 and 2005.
Ann and Fran own 133 acres and raise cattle, horses, hay, corn, tobacco and soybeans. Ann married Fay Hall, and they are the parents of Lisa Hall Holland, Randall Fay Hall, Kimball Fitzgerald Hall and Alan Jenkins Hall. Fran married Fred Belt and Ann and Fran, along with their spouses and Ann’s sons are actively involved in the management of the farm, which includes a cattle operation. Jenkins Sunny Slope Farm is the 24th Century Farm to be certified in Macon 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 Farms 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.


The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recognized MTSU for its outstanding curricular engagement, community outreach and partnerships. As MTSU celebrates its 100th anniversary, Pride, Tradition and Excellence are the cornerstones of "Tennessee’s Best"!