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 the specific locations of the farms because of privacy reasons.
Map courtesy of Carole Swann, Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Leonard T. Aydelott
Prince H. Aydelott
J. Horace Aydelott
Sometime before 1896, William D. Aydelott founded the
Aydelott Farm that is located in the
After the death of his father, L.W. (Leonard Wright)
Aydelott became the owner of the farm. While L. W. managed the farm, he also
served 54 consecutive years as a
In 1974, the farm was divided between L.W.’s sons. Today,
Leonard T.
Photo: This
old barn on the Aydelott Farm is still used to store hay.
Hezekiah M. Springer
Reda Floyed Springer
The Blue Rock Shoals Farm was founded in 1854 by James Morgan
Flowers and his wife Sarah Hungerford Flowers. The 95 acres yielded wheat,
peanuts and corn and also supported cattle and hogs. A still house operated for
many years at the spring on this property and the area retains the name of
“Still House Hollow.” Over the years,
land from the farm was given for the
The current owners are Hezekiah M. and Reda Floyed Springer. Mrs. Springer is the fourth
generation of her family to own and live on this farm. Highway construction has affected the
landscape of the farm and surrounding area over the years. In 1963 new Highway
50 was constructed through a part of the farm and all of the old farm buildings
were removed to make way for that corridor.
Interstate 40 runs just five miles from the farm. Today, the owners as well as their daughter,
Mitzi Springer Williams and her family live on the farm where corn, soybeans,
and hay are raised.
Irene and Lester Harvill
Although
The second generation owners was James Clinton Carothers
and his wife Molly Hassell. The parents of five children, the Hassells farmed
2,200 acres of land and raised corn, wheat and livestock.
In 1919, the current family owners obtained about 700
acres of the original farm. Now owning a total of 1,100 acres, they sharecrop
the land with Lonnie Baker and produce soybeans, corn, timber. Few of the
farm’s early buildings, save for a smokehouse and a portion of the residence,
remain intact.
Mary Horner
Located on the
Granville and his wife Jennie Catherine Thompson Hickman had one
child, Mary Hill Hickman Horner. Mary,
married to Ted Horner, became the third generation to own the land in 1959. While maintaining the farm, the Horner
family, including children Thetus and Nancy Carol, were active in the
community. Mary served as a leader in the 4-H Congress while her children
participated in the 4-H club. In
addition, Mary joined the Farm Bureau women’s club, Home Demonstration Club,
and Ted was a director in the Farm Bureau.
Today, Mary and Thetus raise Angus cattle and hay. Nancy and her husband Duane P. Clark also own
a part of the original farm tract. The
farm house contains a log room in which Granville Hickman was born in 1884 and
Mary in 1915. The graves of the founder,
John Moore and Mary Sue Hickman are cared for by the generations of the family
that live on this historic farm today.
Photo:
The farmhouse on the Four Hills Farm
Belinda Potts
The Green View Valley Farm is nine miles northeast of
The founders’ grandson Lewis P. Totty, Jr., acquired his
first tract if family land in 1884. Lewis and his first wife, Sue Bratton,
retained the farm’s daily patterns of operations. After Sue’s death, Lewis
married Addie Anderson in 1896. Although he fathered five children, only his
sons Willie and Lewis reached adulthood.
In 1933, Willie C. Totty inherited approximately 70 acres. He and his wife Sallie Anderson added crops such as beans, hay and potatoes to the farm’s products. In 1955, the family land passed into the hands of one of their seven children, Cecil Totty, who now owns the property. Cecil and his family grow hay and corn and raise cattle and swine. Two rooms of the farm’s original log house and a log smokehouse, still stand at Green View Valley Farm. Today, Belinda Potts, the daughter of Willie Cecil Totty, owns the farm.
Cecil Wilson Luckett
The Luckett Farm was founded in 1893 when Athelia Adeline Hassell
and her husband John Hardeman Hassell purchased 125 acres located near her
parents, Zebulon Hassell III and Nancy Totty. John and Athelia had three
children: Clara, who died at birth, Mary Z., and William Hardeman. Athelia
outlived all of her children. She died
in 1953 and is buried, along with her husband, in the Little Lot Methodist
Cemetery.
The second owner of the farm was
William Hardeman Hassell, who obtained the farm in 1928 through a life estate.
Married to Minnie Bryant Easley, the couple had two children. Minnie suffered from tuberculosis, and four
days after giving birth to her daughter, also named Minnie, she died. Eventually, William remarried and fathered
three additional children. Livestock and field crops were raised on the farm
during this time.
In 1954, a fourth cousin to Athelia
and the great-great-great grandson of Zebulon Hassell II, Wilson Luckett and
his wife, Clara (Tillie) acquired the property. Wilson, who has been a
full-time farmer since 1944, has been an active community volunteer. He helped to establish Hickman County Farm
Bureau memberships by going door to door.
Wilson and his father Britt, with whom he farmed for over forty
years, helped string the electric line and set poles for the Meriwether Lewis
Electric Cooperative and cleared right-of-ways for telephone lines when these
services were first offered.
The Lucketts had three children-namely, Stephen Wilson who died in infancy, Gayle, and Judy. Both daughters were active 4-H members. Two grandchildren of Wilson and Tillie, Amanda and James Mathis, were active 4-H members and showed prize-winning swine and cattle. James earned the State FFA degree, won 4-H Level II Swine at Round-Up, and received the 4-H VOL State Award. Wilson and Tillie remain the owners of the historic farm; and their daughter Gayle, her husband Gary Mathis and Gary’s brother Tim are involved in the day to day farming operation that produces cattle and hay (also, see Tim Mathis Farm and Mathis Angus Farms I and II).
Photo: The Sissy Hassell House.
James Washington Shouse
The Shouse family have been among Middle Tennessee’s most
persistent advocates of progressive farming. The many organizations and government
offices associated with modern agriculture-from the Farm Bureau to the local
extension agency-provide farmers with a forum in which they can exchange ideas
and information about successful agricultural practices. Throughout the
generations, the Shouse family has regularly attended and participated in
organizations that have improved the lives of twentieth century farmers.
The Maple Shade Farm dates to Jacob Shouse’s acquisition
of 60 acres, located three miles west of
In three separate transactions between 1900 and 1917,
James D. Shouse obtained the family land. He transformed the farm into a modern
progressive farm and in 1929 the Progressive Farmer magazine designated Shouse
as a “Master Farmer.” Married twice, James fathered three children. The family
raised corn, wheat, alfalfa, sheep, swine, chickens and cattle.
James Washington Shouse, Sr., acquired 190 acres of the
farm in 1931. The great grandson of the founder, Shouse “was well known across
the state as a leader in agriculture. He was with the Production Credit
Association for many years” and served as president of the Hickman County Farm
Bureau, the Hickman County Fair Board and the Meriwether Lewis Electric
Cooperative. His crops included corn, wheat, soybeans, milo, hay and livestock.
James W. Shouse, Jr., who inherited the land in 1979, is the present owner of Maple Shade Farm. He tills 190 acres and raises the same commodities as his father, except for milo. The Shouses use several of the farm’s nineteenth century buildings-a log cabin, the main barn and the farmhouse-in their daily work.
James “Jimmy” W. Mathis
In 1903, Harrell S. Coleman purchased 40 acres. Coleman was married first to Minna Hendrix
with whom he had two children, and then to Mattie G. Coleman. He and Mattie were the parents of five
children.
The second owners of the farm were Grady Mathis, the husband of
Coleman’s niece Mamie Coleman Mathis, and Albert Coleman, Harrell's
nephew. They and their families raised
corn, wheat, cattle, hogs, and hay. Today, James W. “Jimmy” Mathis, son of Grady
and Mamie Coleman Mathis, owns the farm with his wife Wilma.
According to the farm’s Century Farm application information,
farming has been the only life Jimmy has known.
He began plowing with a mule at age twelve and bought his first tractor
after graduating from
Today, Jimmy currently serves on the Hickman County Farm Bureau
Board of Directors and as an elder at Twomey Church of Christ. He has been a long time member of the
American Angus Association, Tennessee Cattleman's Association, and the
Tennessee Pork Producers. He served as
chairman of the Hickman County Agricultural Board and as a board member of the
Tennessee Pork Producers and Hickman Farmer's Co-op.
Jimmy and his wife Wilma, a Totty’s
Photo: Jimmy Mathis, Hickman County Farm Bureau Junior Grand Champion Beef in 1948.
James “Jimmy” W. Mathis
In 1905 A.
Photo: A view of the landscape on the Mathis Farms.
Diane and Lonnie Garrett
Paul S. and Brownie Mayberry
The Mayberry-Garrett Farm was founded in 1859 by Peter
Simmons Mayberry, a veteran of the Mexican War.
Located 3 miles west of
Peter and
Peter Simmon Mayberry II, became the next generation to own the
farm. Peter and his wife Winnie Frances Breece had two children. Their son William Ivy Mayberry became the
fourth generation to manage the farm.
William and his wife Ollie Adele Spence had four children, Gill,
Mildred, Paul, and Williams, Jr. Paul and Gill
acquired the land in 1972. Under their ownership, the farm produced
wheat, corn, sorghum, hay and soybeans and raised horses, cattle and chickens.
Paul married Brownie Bates and Gill married Elizabeth Rochelle. Paul and his wife had three children and Gill
and his wife had one.
Today, Paul and Brownie and daughter Diane Mayberry and her
husband Lonnie Garrett own the land. They continue to work the land producing
hay and cattle and they rent the bottom land for raising corn and soybeans. For the past 50 years, the Mayberrys have been
involved in farm organizations such as 4-H and FFA. The family has many
photographs and maintains a good collection of the family’s many contributions
to
Photo: A garden and Pecan
Trees on the Mayberry-Garrett Farm.
Arlie S. Tidwell
New technology made available through
Tidwell married twice and fathered eleven children. In
1930, his son Arlie S. Tidwell purchased the farm. Acquiring 52 additional
acres at a later date, Arlie and his wife Roberta Peeler operated this land for
53 years until Arlie’s death in 1983. They raised corn, hay, sorghum, cattle
and swine. Arlie was a member of the Hickman County Court from 1942 to 1967.
Currently, his son Carlos Ray Tidwell works the farm, producing corn, hay, beef
cattle and sorghum. He stores a portion of his crops in a pre-Civil War slave
cabin, which still stands on the property.
John F. Cochran
John Henry Nichols and his brothers, Gilbert and R. C. Nichols,
founded Nichols Creekside Farm, located 23 miles northeast of Centerville,
Tenn., in 1879. On 168 acres, they raised hay, corn, hogs, cattle and chickens.
John was married to Sarah
Caroline Jewell and they were the parents of four children. In 1913, the farm
was sold to James Nichols, Robert Nichols and Tom Nichols. By 1925, James
Nichols had become the sole owner of the farm.
James was married to May Myrtle Anderson and they had 10 children. James was on the first board of directors of
the Hickman County Farm Bureau, which was organized in 1930.
J.
H. Nichols, the grandson of the founder, became the third generation to own the
farm in 1955. J. H. married Eva W. Nichols and they were busy raising grains,
vegetables, and livestock. They were also
active members in the community. Eva was a member of the home
demonstration club in
William J. Baker, the
great-grandson of the founder, became the fourth generation to own the farm in
1992. He and wife Barbara Baker raised cattle and hay on the farm.
In 1997, the
great-great-grandson of the founder, John F. Cochran, and his wife, Shirley,
acquired the farm. Today, the owners and their son, John G. Cochran and his
family, continue the farming traditions by raising hay and a herd of beef
cattle.
Photo: A barn on the Nichols Creekside Farm.
William H. Nunnelly
Walter S. Nunnelly, III
In 1844, Lawson H. Nunnelly established the Nunnelly Farm. Located
in the
The next owner of the property was
Lawson’s and Elizabeth’s son, Walter S. Nunnelly. Under his ownership, starting
in 1885, the farm produced a variety of livestock and row crops. Eleanor Nellie Phillips was Walter’s
wife. Their six children were William,
John Pitts, Kate, Anne, Elise and Harry.
In 1930, brothers William Henry
Nunnelly and John Pitts Nunnelly acquired the farm. William married Louise
Bailey and John Pitts wed Ellen Ambrose. In 1942, the great grandson of the
founder, Walter S. Nunnelly acquired the farm. Walter and his wife, Betty Jane
Cox raised corn, soybeans, hay, cattle and hogs on the farm. In 1983, their
sons William Nunnelly, II and Walter S.
Nunnelly, III acquired the farm. They
along with Sherman Gatlin, farm manager, work the farm which produces hay. The farm house that the brothers grew up in
was built in 1937 and still stands on the property. The ancestral home of the Nunnelly family,
built in 1823 by Robert Sheegog (who later moved to
Melody Skelton
The Pruett Farm, located near the mouth of Sugar Creek in the Only
community of
Later in the nineteenth century, the farm passed to Josephine Spence Pruett, the granddaughter of the founders. Mrs. Pruett, in turn, left the property in 1892 to her son James Benjamin Pruett. When Childress Pruett acquired his tract of family land in 1939, he became the sixth generation owner. Childress and his wife Sudie Weatherspoon obtained an additional parcel of woodland in 1945 and with these two acquisitions they developed a prosperous farm. In 1976, their crops included corn, hay and livestock. Interstate Highway I-40 passes through the property and its right-of-way claims 30 acres of the original farm.
Childress and Sudie Pruett had no children and upon his death in August of 1993, he willed the Pruett Farm, which contains 460 acres, to his great-niece Melody Claud Skelton, leaving his wife Sudie a life estate. She died in 2006, having lived for nearly 78 years on the farm. Melody and her family reside in the large farmhouse that was constructed in 1906. Currently, the farm produces timber, cattle and hay.
Photo: Located in the Only community, the Preutt house is a traditional frame I-house with an additional wing and front porch.
James Marlin Totty
Descendents of Robert and Matilda Totty also own the Riverview Farm,
which is located along the
James Timothy “Tim” Mathis
The
Tim Mathis Farm was founded by Zachary Taylor Coleman
in 1894. Married to Rhoda “Rody” Angeline Totty Coleman, the couple had seven
children: Florence Malina, S. Lillian, A. Aden, Harrell S., Mollie, H. Alvin
and Arthur L. On the 100 acres, the
family raised corn, hay, hogs and cattle.
In 1912, the founder’s son,
In 1957,
Today, the property pastures registered Black Angus cattle and
holds five hog barns for the farrow-to-finish hog operation owned by Tim, his
father Jimmy Mathis, and his brother Gary Mathis (see Mathis Angus Farms I and
II). The
Photo: Feeding cattle on the Tim Mathis Farm.
Mark Williams
Dating to 1840, the Williams Farm is seven miles east of
In 1952, Mark P. Williams acquired the farm and until his
recent death, he supervised agricultural operations that yielded corn, hay,
cattle and swine. Miss Louisa Williams now manages the farm.