Located west of
Once known for
agriculture and coal mining as its leading industries, the county was propelled
to national prominence in the 1930s with the introduction of the Tennessee
Valley Authority and the construction of Norris Dam. During the years of World
War II,
Map Courtesy of Carole Swann, Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Gregory W. Darnell
Prior
to the establishment of the state of
In
1857, Margaret Jane Johnson, the founder’s granddaughter, married Samuel Peak
Moore. As a wedding present, Margaret received some of the acreage from the
original farm. Under her ownership, the 323 acres produced cattle, pigs,
chickens, hay, corn and soybeans. The couple had five children. Their son,
Samuel Tilden Moore, was the next owner of the land, along with his wife, Adania
Dunkin Moore. The couple continued raising the same livestock and crops that
were grown by the founder, with the addition of tobacco. Samuel Tilden Moore
was a logger and he built his home out of timber from the property in 1896.
Samuel Tilden and Adania Dunkin Moore had five children.
After
Samuel Tilden and Adania died, the farm’s acreage was dispersed to their
children. Although the farm was divided between the children, Samuel Houston
Moore, the eldest son, continued to farm the entire acreage because the other
heirs lived in other states. Samuel
Houston Moore and his wife, Laura Onetia Burress, farmed the property until
their death. Their daughters, Margaret Illene Moore Darnell and Margie Lorene
Moore Wright were the next owners of the farm.
In
1986, Gregory Wade Darnell, the son of Margaret Illene Moore Darnell purchased
the acreage and the farm house. Gregory and his wife still live in the home
that Samuel Tilden Moore constructed in 1896. The Darnells now raise horses,
hay and cattle on the farm.
Photo (top):
A trail leading on the Darnell Farm
Photo
(bottom): The farmhouse on the Darnell Farm
Ruth H. Rapier
James M. Hackworth
Kenneth O. Hackworth
In 1907, Henry Grant Dail inherited Fairdale Ranch from
his father. He and his wife H. Ella Prosise had nine children and together they
farmed Fairdale’s 250 acres. Like his father, Henry produced the same kinds of
foodstuffs and animals, but added the cultivation of tobacco, an important cash
crop for all the twentieth century farmers. A prominent citizen of the
In 1932, Annie Dail
Hackworth, the granddaughter of William Riley Dail, Jr., inherited the farm in
the height of the Great Depression. Four years later, she and her family
witnessed an important moment in the history of the Tennessee Valley Authority,
when officials joined the power line from Norris Dam to Muscle Shoals,
Today, Fairdale Ranch includes only 50 acres, which
produce hay to feed the family’s cattle. While Fairdale no longer exhibits the
diversity of farm activity that characterized it 100 years ago, the Dail home,
a two-story frame house built of virgin pine sills and yellow poplar siding in
1869-1870 stills stands as a reminder of the nineteenth century East Tennessee
landscape.
The current owners of the farm are Ruth H. Rapier, James
M. Hackworth and Kenneth O. Hackworth, who are the children of Annie and the
great grandchildren of the founder of the farm.
Photo
(bottom): Pasture scene on the Fairdale Ranch.
Hubert H. Longmire
Hobert C. Longmire
The Lamar Century Farm is only one
The Civil War directly affected the family. Northern
officers conscripted one son, an action which so outraged one of his brothers
that he ran away and joined the Confederate army. Northern troops also camped
one night at the farm, leaving the next morning with most of the family’s food
and livestock. The soldiers also burned the farm’s rail fence.
Despite the hardships, the Lamars survived the Civil War
and in 1900 the farm’s ownership passed to Charles B. and Lizzie Tilley Lamar.
Charles and Lizzie remained faithful to one Lamar tradition-they continued to
raise wheat, corn and mules-but ignored another-they had only three children.
In the 1930s, like the first generation of Lamars, Charles and Lizzie suffered
property losses at the hands of the federal officials. The Tennessee Valley
Authority took 111 acres of the farm for the Norris Dam Reservoir.
Rose Lamar Longmire, the granddaughter of Joseph Lamar,
acquired the farm in 1963. Her family continued to manage its 85 acres and use
one of its early structures, a barn now believed to be well over 100 years old.
The farm is now owned by Hubert and Hobert Longmire, the grandsons of Rose.
Robert Irwin
Paul Longmire
Elijah and Mary Moss Longmire established the
Longmire Farm in 1817. Located northeast of
In 1838, Elijah and Mary’s son Henderson Longmire
inherited 60 acres of the farm.
As of 1976, a log crib and granary, each at least 100
years old, still stood on the Longmire Farm. The Longmires also managed a
diversified farm of tobacco, timber, some grain, hay and beef cattle.
Rushia Farmer
The Twin Springs Hereford Farm is located
approximately five miles northwest of
Kinza’s
and Sarah’s son, Craven Johnson, became the next generation to own the land in
1831. Craven with his wife Jane Leinhart and their eight children raised the
same crops and livestock as the founder with the addition of sheep and
chickens. After Craven Johnson, the acreage passed through three generations of
family ownership.
Rushia Johnson Farmer, the great great granddaughter of
Kinza and Sarah Johnson, inherited two acres of the present farm in 1949 and
acquired the remainder in 1967. She and her husband W. Clyde Farmer lived on
the land and managed the farm, until his death. Rushia still owns the farm
today.
Twin Springs
