[485] Dyer County Farm Joins Ranks of State's Century Farms Program

For Release: June 1, 2011
Contact: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947


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

Austin Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)— The Austin Farm, located in Dyer 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.
William Larkin Austin bought 92 acres of farmland in Dyer County, south of Newbern, in 1910. He and his family may have been in Dyer County earlier, but records are still being researched by the family. With his wife, Georgan Johnson Austin, and their nine children, the Larkin Austin family raised cotton, corn, hay, cattle and swine. Though Larkin Austin was unable to read or write, he was a smart and successful farmer. He had an excellent reputation as a livestock trader, and the family recalls that he had only to look at a load of livestock to accurately determine the number in the herd and its value. The couple’s home was the first one in the community with indoor plumbing, and although Larkin bought the first automobile in the community, he never drove it much because he had difficulty changing gears.
James Franklin Austin, known to all as “Babe,” was a son of Larkin and Georgan Austin. He bought a farm south of the home place in the 1920s, and he and his wife, Elsie Lucas Austin, built a house and barn there. Their children were Wayne Larkin and Gerald Don. After the death of Larkin in 1923 and Georgan in 1932, the remaining 60 acres was divided among their nine children. Babe acquired the parcels from his siblings and raised cotton, corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, hay and cattle. By 1945, Babe owned 268 acres of land in Dyer County.
In 1959, Wayne Larkin Austin bought a 25-acre tract of the family farm. Like his father, Babe, he raised cotton, corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, hay and cattle. Wayne married Lois Weaver, and their children are Gary Wayne, Philip Glen and Donna Duncan.
In 1992, Gary Wayne Austin acquired the Austin Farm. On 136 acres, he raises cotton, corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, hay, milo, pigs and cattle. He is married to Janie Prichard Austin, and they live on the farm along with his mother, Lois.
The Austin Farm is the 25th certified Century Farm in Dyer 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.



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.