Hardin County

            Hardin County was created in 1819 and was named for Colonel Joseph Hardin who participated in the Revolutionary War and served as a representative of Washington and Greene counties in the early years of statehood. The county seat is Savannah. During the Civil War, the Battle of Shiloh took place in the area between Shiloh Church and Pittsburg Landing. Today, the area is commemorated by a 3,000 acre national park. Hardin County has two Century Farms and the oldest is the Dodd Farm that was founded in 1893. For more information regarding Hardin County, go to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History & Culture website.            

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

Dodd Farm

Hanley Franks 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

Dodd Farm

Muriel Franks Bradley

The Dodd Farm, located southeast of Savannah, was founded in 1893 by Andrew Kelsey Dodd.  Dodd was of Scots-Irish descent and the family tradition is that his mother’s Bible (destroyed when his home burned) was written in Gaelic.  Dodd, a firm believer in the preservation of the United States, enlisted in the Union Army in Wayne County in 1863 and served until 1865, fighting at Shiloh as well as other major battles.    In 1883 Dodd moved to Hardin County.  He and his first wife Martha Agnes Johnson had twelve children.   On 150 acres, the Dodds, grew corn, hay, wheat, cotton, timber and swine. Their daughter, Lillie Ada Dodd, and her husband, Eddie Coleman Franks, acquired 60 acres of the farm in 1912.  For nearly a half century, the Franks were successful farmers and active in the community.  In addition to farming, Franks was  a mail carrier and owned and operated a grist mill as well as a general merchandise store for the community.  He was an active member of the Hardin County Farm Bureau and raised “pure bred white faced Hereford cattle, southdown sheep and duroc hogs.”  Mrs. Lillie Dodd Franks’ house was known  a “second home for preachers” and she cooked for her large family as well as farm workers, and school teachers who boarded in the family home while teaching at nearby Gillis Chapel School.   During the hard years of the Great Depression, Mrs. Franks fed many people who came by looking for food and work.  She also belonged to the home demonstration club and worked with community fairs, and was very active in her church.  Her daughter writes in a biographical sketch that she “always had a well stocked cellar and smokehouse as well as plenty of fresh food.  Her priorities in life were her church, family, home and community.”   Supporters of education, the Franks gave land on which a new consolidated school was built when the Gillis Chapel School ceased to be used.  All of the Franks children and grandchildren attended the University of Tennessee majoring in agriculture or home economics.

            In 1984, Muriel Franks Bradley became the owner of her parents’ farm. She was born and raised in the Gillis Mills community and attended the elementary school and churches.  A 1944 graduate in home economics from the University of Tennessee, she was a county home demonstration agent, an elementary school principal, and hospital food service director.   She was a member of the first 4-H club in Hardin County and supported this program as an agent, mother of five 4-H members, and as a volunteer leader.  She married John Quincy Bradley in 1947.  Their son, John Franks Bradley and his wife Debra assist Mrs. Bradley in the management of the farm which produces cattle, hay, and timber. 

Hanley Franks Place

Hanley Franks

            Located twelve miles east of Savannah, Tennessee is the Hanley Franks Place that was founded by A. J. Franks in 1900. Married to Nannie Franks, the couple had five children. Their names were Sallie, Lillie, Clemmie, Jim and Ednie. On the 163 acres, the farm produced corn, cotton, hay, pigs and cattle.
According to the family, stagecoaches once passed through the property with stops in the Center Star and Loweryville communities. During the 1940s, the farm was cross fenced and a modern brick home was built. In 1951, the farm received electricity for the first time.

            After A. J. passed away, his grandson, Hanley Franks bought out the other heirs of the property and became the sole owner of the property. Along with his wife, Mary, they had four children. Under his ownership, the farm has produced soybeans, corn and cotton. However, the farm now mainly raises hay and beef cattle. Today, Hanley and his son, Tommy Jack work the land and they also do custom hay bailing for other farmers in the community.

Photo (left): A barn on the Hanley Franks Place Century Farm.

Photo (right): Hanley Franks raised lived and raised his family in this house for many years.