[387] Monroe County Farm Joins Ranks of State's Century Farms Program

For Release: April 12, 2012
Contact: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947


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

Triple S Farms Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

MURFREESBORO — The Triple S Farms, located in Monroe 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.
As the bicentennial of the War of 1812 is remembered this year, several Century Farms have associations to the second War for Independence as it is often called including this Monroe County Farm. It was established by John H. Shadden, a War of 1812 veteran, who came to the county in 1827. In September of 1858, he paid $1,000 for a 319-acre farm east of Tellico Plains. Married to Nancy Jane McMurray in 1820, the Shaddens had 10 children. Family stories recount that the farm served as a campsite during the Civil War.
Two sons, Alexander and Andrew Shadden, acquired the farm in 1869. Andrew married Mary Leslie Shadden, and they were the parents of three children. Alexander married Esther Margaret Gay and they had six children. In 1881, Andrew Shadden sold his share to his brother, Alexander.
William Hastings Shadden, a son of Alexander Shadden and grandson of the founding couple, acquired 105.3 acres of the farm. Like his ancestors, William raised corn, cattle, pigs and hay on the farm. Married to Caroline “Callie” N. Cunningham, they were the parents of nine children.
In 1947, Alex Hasting “V.O.” Shadden, a son of William Hastings Shadden and great-grandson of the founder, acquired the farm. V.O. married Jennie Lela McClellan and they were the parents of one child, Stanley. This generation raised corn, tobacco, sorghum cane, tomatoes, bell peppers, watermelons, cantaloupes, cotton, hay, timber and cattle on the farm. The harvests from the farm were sent to markets across the state and the South. Tomatoes were bought and processed by the Stokely-Van Camp Cannery in Tellico Plains. Bell peppers were shipped to the Moody Company of Florida, which provided V.O. with the seedlings he planted and harvested. The cotton crop was hauled to McMinn County for ginning and sale.
Stanley Shadden, great-great-grandson of the founder, acquired the farm in 1989. He has worked on the farm his entire life. In addition to farming, Stanley has been an educator in Monroe County since 1978 and currently serves as principal at Rural Vale Elementary School, a position he has held since 1992. His wife, Sherry Morgan Shadden, is also a Monroe County educator. The Shaddens are members of the Monroe County Farm Bureau. Stanley was a member of the Monroe County Farmer’s Co-op, the Tennessee Cattleman’s Association, National Cattleman’s Beef Association, and the American Angus Association. Their son, Ryan, was a member of the 4-H and Future Farmers of America at Tellico Plains High School and Hiwassee College. He received his B.S. in agriculture from the University of Tennessee in 2008. Stanley and Ryan are involved in the daily operations and Sherry helps out whenever and however needed. The family raises Black Angus cattle, hay, timber, pumpkins, watermelons and cantaloupes. The father and son are the fifth and sixth generations of the Shadden family to farm this land.
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.

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