Hancock County

            Hancock County is in the northeastern section of Tennessee and shares its northern border with the state of Virginia. The county was named in honor of John Hancock, the Revolutionary patriot. The town of Sneedville serves as the county seat and is the only incorporated town in the county. Traditionally, the county’s economy has been based on agriculture and small businesses. However, the county also had a booming mining industry during the 1950s-1970s. Hancock County has three Century Farms and the oldest farm is the Parkey Farm that was established in 1826. For more information regarding Hancock County, please go to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History & Culture website.

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

Clinchview Acres Farm

Parkey Farm

Stony Acres Farm

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

Map courtesy of Carole Swann, Tennessee Department of Agriculture

Clinchview Acres Farm

Gaston Garland

            The history of Clinchview Acres Farm contains important information about nineteenth century transportation on the Clinch River. Established in 1833 by Joseph and Eliza Garland, the farm stands two miles southeast of Sneedville. Initially it had 150 acres of which the Garlands produced swine, dairy cattle, oxen and corn. Their son Jess, who inherited the property in 1870, replaced the oxen with mules and began to grow wheat. Jess also supplemented his farming income as a steersman on rafts that floated commercial goods down the Clinch River from Hancock County to the railhead at Chattanooga.

            In 1959, the fourth generation owner of the Clinchview Acres, Gaston Garland, inherited eleven acres of the original farm. Garland has since purchased 70 additional acres. As of 1976, he raised cattle and swine and cultivated tobacco.

Parkey Farm

James Parkey

            Parkey Farm dates to 1826, when Peter and Mary Shoun Parkey acquired 1,200 acres of land located seventeen miles northwest of Sneedville. The owner of a large number of slaves, Peter managed a plantation that produced corn, hay, cattle and draft horses.

            Of Peter and Mary’s twelve children, Issac Parkey became the second owner of Parkey Farm. With 600 acres at his disposal, Issac, his wife Rhoda Bales and their six children lived well, despite the inherent difficulties of farming in a region torn apart by the violence of the Civil War and Reconstruction.

            After Issac’s ownership, the family land passed through the hands of three more generations. C. V. Parkey, the third generation owner, received a federal contract to supply beef cattle to feed government employees at Oak Ridge. Otto Parkey was the fourth generation owner and taught school for thirty years to supplement his farming income. James Parkey, the fifth generation owner, acquired the land in 1972. Working with his son Allen, he specializes in tobacco and beef production on his 750 acres.

Photo: A view of the farm landscape on the Parkey Farm.

Stony Acres Farm

Rector Kyle Greene
Bill J. Greene
Alfred T. Greene

            Many present-day southerners believe that stories about blood feuds are mere legends, part of Southern lore. The history of Stony Acres Farm, however, is a reminder that feuds were part of the region’s historical experience. R. D. and Polly Greene established the Stony Acres Farm, located five miles southeast of Sneedville, in 1875. The founders and their seven children worked 100 acres and produced corn, oats, wheat, cattle and swine. Robert A. Greene, who inherited the farm from his parents in 1883, later added 80 acres to the family’s landholdings. Robert and his wife Patsy Seal also managed a more diversified farming operation, which included tobacco, sorghum and sheep.

            The Greene-Jones War, a blood feud between the Greene and Jones families of Hancock County, occurred between 1887 to 1890, during Robert and Patsy Greene’s ownership. This mindless violence, which led to several deaths, started when one of the Greene’s hogs ate most of the Jones’ corn mash.

            In 1941, 205 acres of the family land passed into the hands of Henry S. Greene, the founders’ great grandson. Today, Henry’s sons manage his estate and count cattle, swine, tobacco, corn, hay and vegetables as the farm’s products.