Bledsoe County

            Bledsoe County is the oldest and most northern county in the Sequatchie Valley and was established in 1807. The county was named for Anthony Bledsoe, a Revolutionary war patriot who migrated to Tennessee from Virginia in the late 1700s. Its county seat, Pikeville, is located on the state route from Knoxville to Huntsville, Alabama. By being strategically located, the town developed as a trade and supply center for farmers. The county also is the home of Fall Creeks Falls State Park that offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities for the public. The oldest farm in Bledsoe County is the Sam Stephens Dairy Farm that dates to 1816. For more information on Bledsoe County, please go to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History & Culture website.

For a brief historical sketch of each farm, click on the farm name:

The following map is for a general geographical understanding. It does not provide specific locations of the farms because of privacy reasons.

Map Courtesy of Carole Swann, Tennessee Department of Agriculture

Joe and Virginia Johnson Farm

Joe Johnson
Virginia Johnson

            The Joe and Virginia Johnson Farm, located eleven miles south of Pikeville, has been in family hands for over 136 years and the continuity of agricultural commodities produced on this land reflects not only the continual family ownership but the limited farming opportunities of the Bledsoe landscape. Founded by Joseph Hixon before 1850, the farm originally had 1,430 acres comprised of land both in the valley and in the mountains. Joseph Hixon and his second wife Phoeba had a large family and they managed the farm’s daily operations and a small store on the property.

            At Joseph’s death in 1875, the farm passed into the hands of his children, with 60 acres coming into the possession of George W. Hixon. George and his wife Temperence “Tempie” Hixon served the local community in many different capacities. A Civil War veteran, George was a Methodist church leader while Tempie was the community’s doctor and nurse, delivering babies and caring for the sick. 

            George Hixson died at the age of 75 and Tempie outlived her husband to the age of 90. Their younger son Luther seems to have been the next generation to inherit the farm. In 1955, the great great grandson of Joseph and Phoeba Hixon, Joe M. Johnson, acquired the family farm. Together with his wife Virginia, Joe produces basically the same foodstuffs-corn, hay, cattle and swine-that his relatives raised on the land over 130 years ago. Today, the Johnson Farm totals 120 acres.

Kelly Farm

Edna Mae Kelly

            The Kelly Farm is an outstanding example of a homestead serving as a rural community center. In 1874, James Jones Kelly purchased about 320 acres from Issac McReynolds and established the Kelly Farm four miles south of Pikeville. A leader in the civic and business community of Bledsoe County, Kelly was an elder of the New Bethel Cumberland Presbyterian Church, helped to establish a private school (where three of his children would later teach), served on the county schoolboard and was a trustee of People’s College in Bledsoe County. He also was one of the founders of the First National Bank of Pikeville.

            Kelly, his wife Euphemia and their children operated a diversified farm, which produced Hereford and Jersey cattle, sheep, hogs, hay, corn, wheat, small grains and timber. According to the family, “corn was harvested by cutting with a long steel knife, put into shocks until dried, and then each ear pulled from the stalks and thrown into the wagon. The first method of harvesting wheat was (to use) a homemade cradle, with long prongs and long steel blade, (to) cut the wheat, (which was then) tied into bundles ready for threshing.” In time, “with plenty of water, rich soil, wise management, Scotch-Irish frugality and wise choice of mates,” Kelly Farm grew to almost 1000 acres, providing plenty for thirteen children and a surplus to market. The farm was also a center of social activity, where lawn parties, young people’s dinners, family get-togethers and annual family reunions took place.

            In 1922, when James J. divided the farm equally among his children, Jim Barker, Marguerite and Erma Kelly acquired about 329 acres. Sixty years later, they continued to manage and operate the farm, producing corn, hay, swine, cattle and timber while owning a Grade A dairy business. In 1984, Jim Barker Kelly died and his wife, Edna Mae Kelly acquired his acreage. The Kelly Farm has continued to be an important gathering place for the community. For well over 40 years, the Bledsoe County Home Demonstration Club has met every June at the family home.

 Photo: With six rooms built in 1890 and three more added in 1910, the Kelly homestead in Bledsoe County, like so many Tennessee rural houses, expanded to meet the changing needs of the farm family. 

Loyd Angus Farm

Robert A. Loyd

            The Loyd Angus Farm is one of Bledsoe’s oldest, dating to 1823 when John Hankins purchased 50 acres. Together with his wife Mary and their five children, John worked a small farm which yielded apples, corn and vegetables. Upon his father’s death in 1826, Jack Hankins acquired the land, continuing to produce the same crops as his father. Jack and Cecilia Hankins had an extraordinarily large family of nineteen children. One of their daughters, Caroline, married Benjamin Loyd, a soldier in the Confederate army. At the end of the Civil War, Benjamin joined his wife on the family farm, living there for the rest of the century.

            In 1905, Robert E. Loyd obtained the land. He would add about 100 acres to the farm and enlarge the original house. According to the family, Robert “practiced modern methods in farming” and was the first in the community “to use fertilizer (and) practice shallow cultivation and rotation.” He was an organizer of the Bledsoe County Farm Bureau and an original director of the Bledsoe Farmers Co-op. Robert also served in county politics as a justice of the peace and as a road commissioner.

            Robert E. and Simmie Morgan Loyd had four children and in 1951, their son Robert A. acquired a portion of the family farm. Today, Robert manages the farm while his sons Robert C. and Larry S. work its 221 acres, producing corn, hay, wheat and Angus cattle.

Maple Grove Farm

John Hollis Pope

The Maple Grove Farm , south of Pikeville, was founded by Jonathan Pope in 1832.  Pope fought in the War of 1812 and received five Tennessee land grants for his service.  He moved from Upper East Tennessee to the Sequatchie Valley to take possession of the grants that totaled 1180 acres.  A successful farmer, by 1850 he owned 4000 acres.  Married to Deliah Coutler, the Popes had nine children.  Cattle, sheep, hogs, corn, oats and hay were raised by the family.

            James Jerome Pope acquired his parents’ farm  in 1869. According to the family, James served in “Standefer’s Co. 1^st Tennessee MTD Infantry with his brother Thomas Alexander Pope in the Cherokee Indian War from 1836-1838.” In addition to managing the farm, James was appointed Justice of the Peace for Bledsoe County in 1854.  James married Mary Murphy Worthington and they had twelve children.

            In 1891, their son, Charlie, acquired the farm. While raising crops and livestock, he also built a house that is still standing on the farm. In addition, he taught school for several years, was elected as a member of the County Court and served as an elder of the Pikeville Church of Christ. Wed to Dora Billingsley Pope, the couple had seven children.

            Charlie and Dora’s son, Andrew Hershel Pope, obtained the land. During World War I, Hershel served as a medic in the army.  He and his wife, Virgie Mae Walker, had four children.  The family recalls that Hershel worked “constantly to improve farming techniques, family farms and the future of farming.”  He helped to organize the Bledsoe County Farm Bureau in 1924 and served as its president for seventeen years. He also served on the Soil Conservation committee for 18 years and was a director in the Production Credit Association for 15 years.  Also, Hershel helped organize the Bledsoe County Farmers Cooperative and the Bledsoe County Telephone Cooperative.  Hershel and Vergie Mae were members of the Mount  Airy Church.           

            Today, the farm is owned by the great, great grandson of the founder, John Hollis Pope. He and his wife, Patricia Pope, have one son, Gary, who helps his father raise beef cattle and hay. Over the years, Hollis has served as a member and as president of the Bledsoe County Farm Bureau and was a director in the Bledsoe County Farmers Cooperative for 32 years.  In addition, Hollis served as a Foreman of the Grand Jury for 17 years. A farm house that was built in 1875 and remodeled by Gary has been home to and he and his wife, Cathy Lynn, since 1991.  Their sons, Shaun Garrett and Andrew William, were raised on the farm.  Shaun and his wife, Crystal, have a daughter, Kaitlyn Grace Pope.   Andrew works in Chattanooga.  Continuing the tradition of his family’s attention to progressive farming, Gary attends workshops sponsored by the Agricultural Extension Office and, as the 6^th generation, plans to keep the working farm in the family in the future.   He and his father manage and operate the farm.

Photo: Cattle and trees on the Maple Grove Farm.

McReynolds-Shelton Farm

Willene McReynolds Shelton
Wilma Henley McReynolds

            Samuel M. McReynolds was just one of many Century Farm founders who owned businesses in nearby towns as well as managing a profitable agricultural operation. He established the McReynolds-Shelton Farm, located two miles south of Pikeville, in 1863. Originally, the farm had 478 acres on which the McReynolds family grew corn, wheat, oats and rye and raised cattle, swine and horses. But Samuel was more than a farmer. In partnership with T. J. Wilson, he operated a successful mercantile business in Pikeville until 1862 when Federal soldiers commandeered his entire stock of goods. Samuel, with W. S. Loyd as partner, again opened a Pikeville store in 1887, but five years later he sold the business in order to devote his time to farming.

            Samuel and his first wife Elizabeth Henson had four children and in 1910, their son Charles L. McReynolds inherited the farm’s 478 acres. Returning from Montana to acquire the land, Charles became a valued member of the community and was active in local Democratic politics, church and community affairs. He, his wife Fannie Hudson and their three children operated a diversified farm that included wheat, rye, corn, hay, oats, swine and cattle as its commodities.

Rolling Acres Farm

 Mr. and Mrs. L. L. Swafford
Mr. and Mrs. Leon Swafford
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Swafford

            In 1848, Aaron Swafford received a grant of 5,000 acres of Bledsoe County land. About 400 acres of this land now comprises Rolling Acres, located three miles north of Pikeville. Aaron served in the Civil War while his wife Nannie and their four children managed the farm’s production of corn and hay in his absence.

            J. C. Swafford, Aaron and Nannie’s son, inherited 300 acres of the farm in 1874. Raising beef cattle, corn and sheep, J. C. continued to improve the farm by clearing new fields and fencing the property. Swafford, as well as his wife Mattie Greer, also taught school in the community.

             In 1935, one of J. C. and Mattie’s five children, L. L. Swafford, took possession of Rolling Acres. Like his grandfather, L. L. produces corn and hay and like his father, he raises beef cattle. He and his wife Lorene share the farm with their sons John and Leon and their families.

Sam S. Stephens Dairy Farm

Nancy Stephens Tremaine

            The Sam Stephens Dairy Farm stands about one mile north of Pikeville. Established by Issac Stephens in 1816, it is one of the oldest Century Farms in the region. Initially the farm had only 27 acres which produced livestock, but the farm’s small size is not a reflection of its owner’s accomplishments in Bledsoe County history. Issac Stephens was Bledsoe’s first representative in the Tennessee legislature.

            Issac and his wife Anna Davis raised seven children and in 1832, their son William acquired a 187 acre farm. Like his father, William continued to concentrate on livestock production. In 1890, Samuel F. Stephens, the grandson of Issac and Anna Stephens, inherited the farm and expanded it by 70 more acres. Samuel, his wife Martha Jane Swafford and their four children also planted the farm’s first crops of corn and small grains.

            Sam S. Stephens acquired the family farm in two different parcels, receiving 70 acres in 1919 and 238 acres in 1927. Today, Nancy Stephens Trennaine, great granddaughter of the founder, is the owner of the farm. 

Summer City Farm

Evelene & Harold Howser

John Swafford, a Civil War veteran, and his son, Rube, purchased the 112-acre farm in 1902.  John donated land for Summer City Cemetery which includes the graves of three Civil War soldiers.  After John’s death, Rube and mother, Nervy Curtiss Swafford, continued living there, raising hogs, cattle, and operating a truck farm.  Upon Rube’s death in 1936, his brother, James E. Swafford, acquired the farm, selling it to his daughter, Lella, a few years later.  In 1965, she gave her two daughters, Anne Ruth and Alberta Evelene, 50 acres each.  Evelene and her husband, Harold Howser, presently operate the farm, raising corn, hay, cattle, and hogs.

Ann Swafford Rothwell
Caulie W. Rothwell 

           The Swafford Legacy Farm was founded in 1902 by John Swafford and his wife Minerva Curtiss Swafford. The farm consisted of 112 acres. The couple had fourteen children. Their thirteenth child, James E. Swafford, was the next owner of the land. John was married first to Edwina who died in 1919. One of their children was Lella Swafford, born in 1901, who married John Daniel Swafford. Their daughter, Ann Swafford Rothwell and her husband Caulie W. Rothwell are the current owners of the farm. They are members of the Farm Bureau and raise cattle and hay.

Photo: Water Spring at Swafford Legacy Farm

Swafford Ranch 

Neva B. Swafford

            Twelve miles north of Pikeville stands the Swafford Ranch, a Century Farm which Thomas Swafford established in 1836. The ranch began with 175 acres on which Thomas, his wife Hannah Hawkins and their twelve children cultivated corn, hay, wheat, cattle, swine and sheep.

            During the Civil War, the Swaffords differed with their neighbors over the wisdom of the Southern secession and three Swafford boys served in the Union army. Sam Swafford had a particularly distinguished war record and rose to rank of 1^st Lieutenant. He would inherit the farm in 1898.

            Sam married Carrie Emmaline Parham and they were the parents of twelve children, who did most of the daily chores of feeding the cattle and hogs, while their father concentrated on producing high yields of corn and wheat. The farm was also the site of Locust Grove school, where three Swafford daughters would teach in the early 1900s.