Carroll County farm joins ranks of state's Century Farms program

Aden Farm recognized for agricultural contributions

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — An historic Carroll Countyfamily farm is now part of the Tennessee Century Farms Program, administered by the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU, and is being recognized for keeping continuously owned family land in agricultural production for at least the last 100 years.

The Aden Farm, located just south of McKenzie, Tenn., was founded in 1894 by David M. Thomas and his wife, Cynthia Reid Thomas, who raised six children and grew cotton on the 185-acre property. Their eldest son,Vernon Thomas, inherited the farm in 1932, and he and his wife, Azzell Beadles Faughn Thomas, added dairy cattle and chickens to the farm’s output. Vernon also served as president of the local Farm Bureau.

Vernon and Azzell’s daughter, Leona Thomas Aden, and her husband, Tim Aden, acquired the farm in 1962 and raised hogs and blue-ribbon-winning chickens and grew corn with their six children. Leona and Tim’s son Dale Aden, and his wife, Rhonda, now own the farm and continue raising chickens and corn with their family. Dale and Rhonda’s daughter Christine, one of the founder’s great-great-granddaughters, was a Future Farmers of America member for four years at McKenzie High School.

Since 1985, 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 program, visit http://www.tncenturyfarms.org or contact the Center for Historic Preservation at 615-898-2947 or P.O. Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, TN 37132.