Grainger County

            Grainger County was formed in 1796 from parts of Hawkins and Knox counties and holds the distinction as the only Tennessee county named for a woman, Mary Grainger Blount, the wife of Territorial Governor William Blount. Grainger County’s seat is Rutledge and is located 32 miles northeast of Knoxville. Grainger County has eight Century Farms and the oldest is the Massengill Farm that was established in 1796. For more information regarding Grainger County, please go to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History & Culture website.

For a brief historical skecth of each farm, click on the farm name.

Bend of the Creek Farm

Big Maple Dairy Farm

Bowen-Creech-Moody Farm

Harrell Farm

Massengill Farm

Morgan Farm

Renfro Cattle Farm

Rolling Acres Farm

Bend of the Creek Farm

James and Johnnie Lou Vineyard

            Established by Andrew Vineyard in 1818, Bend of the Creek Farm originally consisted of 25 acres, located three miles east of Blaine. Profitable farm managers, Andrew and his wife Sally Clowers specialized in tobacco, corn and timber. When Andrew died in 1878, the farm has almost 500 acres.

            Andrew and Sally’s son, Green Berry Vineyard, inherited 151 acres upon his father’s death and he added wheat cultivation and cattle breeding to the farm’s operations. Green Berry wed Diana Hawkins and they raised ten children including Preston H. Vineyard who inherited 25 acres of the farm in 1899. Preston and his wife Cordelia Byerley received an additional 63 acres from Green Berry Vineyard in 1915.

            James Preston Vineyard, the founders’ great great grandson, gained full control of the farm in 1968. James, his wife Johnnie Lou and their children have completely restored the family home, which dates to 1814. With 96 acres of land at his disposal, James specializes in the cultivation of tobacco and corn while breeding a herd of registered Angus cattle.

Big Maple Dairy Farm

Richard Yates
Charles Yates

            The twentieth century popularity of dairy farming is evident in the history of the Big Maple Dairy Farm. Located in the Buffalo Springs Community eight miles southwest of Rutledge, the farm initially consisted of 195 acres of wheat and cron fields acquired by George W. Graham in 1868. George and his wife Elizabeth West were the parents of six children. In 1887, their daughter Laura Sarah Graham and her husband Luther L. Yates inherited 138.5 acres of the property. Seventy-two years later, Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Yates inherited 155 acres on which they specialized in tobacco cultivation and dairy farming.

            In 1985, Richard and Charles Yates acquired their great grandparents’ land and they continue the farm as a major dairy and tobacco operation. The brothers also use the original two-story farmhouse, built by the founder George Graham, as one of the family homes.

Bowen/Creech-Moody Farm

Alice Creech-Moody

On December 10, 1900, Effie M. Phillips-Rucker established a farm of 350 acres east of Rutledge on U. S. Hwy. 11W.   Married to John Frank Rucker, the couple  produced alfalfa, hay, corn, oats, tobacco, wheat, apples, beef cattle and chickens. Prior to Hwy. 11 W being built, the dirt road than ran in front of the family home became very muddy when it rained or snowed.  Travellers, whose wagon or automobile became stuck came to the house for help.  The Ruckers provided assistance, day or night.   When Hwy.  11W was being built, the farm provided water for the survey and construction crews who filled their containers from the spring that continues to be the main source of water for the house. The family recalls that  the farm house was the first and only place in the community that had a telephone.  Neighbors came to the house to use this new piece of technology call a doctor or for other emergencies or needs.  The farm supported five to seven tenant families and also hired nearby landowners who needed extra money during the year.  

In 1926, James Oscar Rucker, the founders’ only son, acquired the farm. Married to Jessie E. McDaniel-Rucker, the couple had two children, Hazel L. and John Frank Rucker.  In 1929, the house had the first electricity in the community installed in their home.  In addition to installing electricity, the company also encouraged the family to display Christmas lights on two tall cedar trees in the yard. The family reports that people came from Morristown, Rogersville and Jefferson City to see the lighted trees.  Oscar died in 1931 and his wife inherited the property.  Jessie and her children and their families worked the land for the next twenty years, establishing a Hereford cattle operation.  The land was  divided between Hazel and John Frank Rucker in 1950.

            During the ownership of Hazel L. Rucker and her husband Benjamin A. Creech, Jr.,  the farm’s major cash crop was burley tobacco. In addition, the farm supported cattle, hogs and sheep. Over the next two decades,  Hazel and Ben made improvements to the farm.  While the couple managed the farm, they also were active in the community. Ben was a member of the Tennessee Livestock Association, the local cattlemen’s association , the Farm Bureau and the local Farmer’s Cooperative. He also served on the Board of Directors of the TVA & I Fair Association in Knoxville from 1947 to 1984.  Hazel was a charter member of the Avondale Community Club and the local association of cattlewomen.  Hazel’s brother, John Frank Rucker,  built his family home on the south side of the farm and raised cattle until his late 80s.  He remained on the farm where he was born until 2004 when he died at the age of 92.

            In 2003, the great granddaughter of the founder, Alice Creech-Moody acquired the farm.  She is the daughter of Hazel and Benjamin Creech.   A  4-H Club member from 1949 to 1958,  her interest was raising and showing beef calves. Alice, along with her husband, James R. (Rick) Moody, they managed the farm but lease it  to Donny Hixon.  The main house, part of which dates to 1866, a barn, a blacksmith ship, a spring house, a scale house, a cattle barn and a smoke house that were built in the early twentieth century are some of the buildings on this farm.  This well-documented farm is one of Grainger County’s most historic places and the family continues to preserve its stories, buildings, and the land.

Photo: A view of the landscape on the Bowen/Creech-Moody Farm.

Harrell Farm

Walter William Harrell, Jr.

         Located four miles southeast of Bean Station, Tennessee on highway 325, William P. Harrell and Minerva D. McGoldrick Harrell established the Harrell Farm in 1883. On 113 acres, they cultivated corn and wheat. In addition, they  raised cows and mules. William and Minerva had eleven children and their son Walter William Harrell, Sr., became the next owner of the farm. Walter continued to raise the same livestock and crops that the previous owner had done. During Walter’s ownership, the Tennessee Valley Authority built the Cherokee Lake and bridge nearby and named the bridge after William P. Harrell.

 Walter married Laura Ellen Harrell and they had two children. Their son, Walter William Harrell, Jr. acquired the land in 1953. Walter and his family continue to live on the farm and they raise cattle, corn and tobacco.

Photo: Early Corn Crop on the Harrell Farm

Massengill Farm

Emily Dodson Cantwell
Willis Lyle Dodson

            The Massengill Farm, established in 1796 by Michael Massengill, is the oldest Century Farm in Grainger County. Located seven miles southwest of Rutledge in the Buffalo Springs Community, the farm records in physical terms the history of a family that mixed agricultural production with commercial businesses for several generations. The founder originally owned 200 acres devoted to the production of corn, wheat, horses and cattle. More importantly, Massengill and his wife Dorcus Stone owned a water mill that during the Civil War served as an Union army headquarters.

            Robert Massengill and his wife Elizabeth Paul, the second generation owners, were the parents of four children. Together they managed a farm of 1,600 acres while continuing to operate the mill and a general store.

            In 1940, Will Massengill, an important community leader in Grainger County, died and left the farm to his five grandchildren. Today, Willis Dodson and Emily Dodson Cantwell, the great great great grandchildren of the founders, each own 250 acres of the family farm. Thomas J. Cantwell, Emily’s husband, works the land. The farm’s products include tobacco, hay, wheat and black angus cattle. While the early nineteenth century mills still stands, it is in poor condition.

Morgan Farm

Catherine Clark Morgan

            Joel Hammer and his wife Polly Cannon established the Morgan Farm in 1798. The farm passed through several generations of the Hammer family until the early twentieth century when Dora Hammer and her husband Henry Clark acquired 56 acres. The Tennessee Valley Authority featured Henry Clark’s farming successes in a promotional movie which, according to the family, “has been shown in many parts of this nation as well as in many other nations of the world.”

            In 1953, the founders’ great great great granddaughter Catherine Clark Morgan and her husband Clyde inherited the family land. Today they manage its tobacco operations and Harold Turley works the land.

Renfro Cattle Farm

Charles S. Renfro
Mrs. James Garfield Renfro

            Directly affected by post-war railroad construction, the Renfro Cattle Farm details the impact of modern transportation on the fortunes of a typical family farmer in East Tennessee. The Renfro farm, established by John and Jane Renfro in 1824, stands two and a half miles east of Blaine. John and Jane initially possessed 150 acres to which they added 251 acres. The Renfros raised nine children and according to the family, the “farm sustained a large family, even with the crude methods of the time.”

            James H. Renfro, the founders’ son, acquired the family property in 1858. Expanding the number of acres under cultivation, he also purchased about 100 additional acres. But the Civil War “ravaged the farm” and James’ wife Nancy Jane Mitchell fled the farm with the children, seeking safety with neighbors some miles away.

            George Washington Renfro, one of James and Nancy’s six children, inherited 500 acres in 1887. Twelve years later, the Renfro Farm became one of the most valuable in the community when the Southern Railway decided to locate a portion of its Knoxville to Bristol “Peavine” spur through the property. The family remembers that before the railroad, “farm products were hauled 20 miles to Knoxville by wagon. Livestock was driven to a river ferry, then driven on to market.” The railroad brought about a transportation revolution. In exchange for a right-of-way, George received important loading privileges for his hams and other farm products. “Other farmers also loaded their products here,” which helped to provide “employment for many men of the area” until the railroad abandoned the spur line in 1928.

            In 1938, the founders’ great grandson James Garfield Renfro inherited 102 acres of the farm. James has passed away, but today his widow and their son Charles S. Renfro live on the farm. Charles works the property’s 290 acres, producing hay, tobacco and beef cattle. His mother lives in a two-story log home that dates to the nineteenth century.

Rolling Acres Farm

Wilbur Jackson Hickle

          During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the construction of railroad spur lines which served heretofore isolated farming communities often brought about a transformation of the rural landscape. Farms whose management techniques remained those of 50 and 100 years earlier suddenly became more modern commercial enterprises. A good example of this transportation phenomenon in Grainger County is the Rolling Acres Farm, located six miles west of Rutledge. The property dates to 1866 when William Kinsland of North Carolina acquired 249 acres of land. William came to Tennessee looking for adventure; he later became a Methodist minister who rode the circuit in Grainger County. William wed Rachel West and they had four children. The Kinsland family raised corn, hay, cattle, swine and horses and their house served as a local stagecoach stop.

            In 1907, Carrie Kinsland Hickle and her husband A. C. Hickle inherited 185 acres of the original farm. The Hickles practiced general farming and managed a store, which also served as the community post office. When the Southern Railroad established the Knoxville to Bristol “Peavine” spur line through their property at the turn of the century, Rolling Acres became even more productive because the railroad “made it possible to market timber, cattle, milk and other farm products.”

            In 1967, Carrie and A. C.’s only child Wilbur Jackson Hickle inherited the farm. Today, Wilbur farms over 300 acres, specializing in cattle, hay and tobacco. He still uses Rolling Acres original ten-room farmhouse, which features a stone foundation.