index

Montgomery County

Montgomery County was established in 1796 and its county seat is Clarksville. Throughout most of its history, Montgomery County and Clarksville have been well known for its production of dark fired tobacco and it has served as a primary cash crop for the county. During World War II, the U. S. Army established Camp Campbell and by 1950 the post became a permanent site known as Fort Campbell. In addition to Fort Campbell, the county is also home to Austin Peay State University. Montgomery County’s oldest Century Farm is the Allendale Farm that was established in 1796. For more information regarding Montgomery County, 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 the specific locations of the farms because of privacy reasons.

Allendale Farm, located six miles north of Clarksville, is the oldest Century Farm in Montgomery County and it is the only Century Farm in Middle Tennessee to contain two separate dwellings which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Its founders were Abraham and Elizabeth Allen, who established their farm in 1796, the year that Tennessee achieved statehood. The Allens purchased 1,275 acres for (in English currency) 637 pounds and 10 shillings. They were self-sufficient farmers, producing whatever food and cloth they needed.

The founders’ son George Allen, was the farm’s second generation owner. He and his wife Elizabeth Blackwood raised thirteen children. Little else is known about this period in the farm’s history. Bailey F. Allen, the grandson of the founders, owned the farm during the Civil War period. While federal troops took food and livestock, they did not leave the family impoverished. After the war, Bailey developed one of the community’s finest farms, producing corn, tobacco, hay and all types of livestock.

Bailey married Mary Osburn and they were the parents of six children. Their son Bailey F. Allen, Jr., operated the farm during the first half of the twentieth century. Bailey and his wife Eliza Emery owned 300 acres of the family land and managed a typical progressive farm of Middle Tennessee. The family raised both burley and dark-fired tobacco. Corn, wheat, sheep, mules, swine and cattle were other important agricultural commodities. Bailey and Eliza had one child William Bailey Allen, who is the present owner of Allendale Farm. William inherited the farm in 1943 and currently produces soybeans, wheat, burley and dark-fired tobacco, hay, beef cattle and horses.

Since it contains two separate buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Allendale is one of the region’s most significant Century Farms. The original dwelling of Abraham Allen, built in 1796, is a story-and-a-half log house “made of hand-hewn tulip popular logs” measuring 30 feet by 20 feet. A “rectangle in shape with a front and back door,” the log house exhibits traditional Scoth-Irish construction techniques. The second farmhouse, a two-story brick dwelling built in 1858, is “a fine example of the Federal style of architecture as interpreted by Tennesseeans during the antebellum period.”

The Anderson Farm, on the Port Royal Road and bounded by the Red River, was founded in 1819 by Jehu Hoskins and his wife Margaret who, according to their son Josiah, came to Tennessee from South Carolina. The couple had four children and the family grew tobacco, corn, wheat and swine. Their sons, Josiah and Neander Hoskins, were the next owners of the land.

Josiah never married, and in 1871, the farm was inherited by the daughters of Neander and his wife Margaret. The three women, Lucy, Martha and Indiana, owned and operated the farm for more than 30 years, from 1871 to 1906. The current owners, Beverly Anderson Schrichte and spouse D. Chris Schrichte and Reva Anderson, are the eighth generation to farm this land. The 110-acre farm now produces hay, burley and dark tobacco, and horses. A primary family house built in 1896, a tobacco barn, cattle barn, smoke house and chicken house are still in use on the land today. Also, a cemetery, with the earliest burial date of 1817, is also located on the property.

Six miles south of Clarksville lies the Beech Bend Farm, established by John and Beedee Roberts Edmondson in 1873. The Edmondsons and their nine children kept busy throughout the year, cultivating tobacco and corn and raising cattle and swine on their 149.5 acres of land. In 1899, John Roberts Edmondson inherited the farm from his father. Working 135 acres of land, John added no new crops or livestock to the farm’s commodities.

Married to Julia Lowe, John fathered four children and in 1930, his son John Lewis Edmondson inherited the entire farm. John Lewis managed the property for the next 54 years, raising tobacco, soybeans, hay and beef cattle. John died in 1984 and left the farm to his widow Mary Lee Edmondson. Homer L. and Billy Hodges work her 135 acres and grow soybeans and hay. The farm’s original log cabin, which is used for storage, still stands at Beech Bend. Mrs. Edmondson lived in the farm’s late-nineteenth century dwelling. In August of 2007, John Manning IV and his wife Margaret Manning purchased the property. Currently, they live in the restored 1873 farm house and raise cattle and hay.

Four miles northeast of Clarksville is the Bourne family farm. Established by Joe Wimberley and Irene Battle Bourne in 1883, the farm originally contained 59 acres of land. Joe and Irene Bourne has six children and together the family worked the fields, growing corn and tobacco and raising swine and cattle.

Joe Wimberley Bourne died in 1911, but Irene continued to manage the property until her death in 1934. She deeded the farm to her sons, Lewis and Edward D. Bourne, and the two brothers operated the place for the next 40 years. From 1973 to 1977, Mrs. Kitty Beaumont Bourne, the widow of Lewis Bourne, owned the land. Four years later, the founders’ grandsons, Joe Wimberley Bourne, III, and Edward Douglas Bourne, obtained 181 acres of the property. Producers of tobacco, corn, hay and cattle, the brothers farmed the land for many years. They used a log-pen tobacco barn that dates to the late nineteenth century in their daily work. After Edward passed away, his sons,

Joe W. Bourne, IV and Wade L. Bourne inherited his half-share of the farm. As time moved on, Joe W. Bourne, III, who is still alive, gave his half ownership to the brothers as well. Although the brothers still own the farm, it is now leased to a local farmer for pasture and hay production.

In 1858, John and Hester Corlew Cocke established the Cocke Farm, which is six and a half miles south of Clarksville. The parents of twelve children, the Cockes managed a farm of 500 acres that produced corn, wheat, tobacco and all types of livestock, including swine. In fact, during the Civil War, their hog house became a temporary hospital for the Federal troops of General U. S. Grant.

The second generation owners were Pleasant D. and Molly Starkey Cocke. On 237 acres, Pleasant produced the same farm commodities as his parents produced. The farm continued to pass through the hands of different generations of the Cocke family during the twentieth century. Katherine Trotter Cocke, the farm’s present owner, is the widow of John Hartwell Cocke, the great grandson of the founders who obtained the family’s 237 acres in 1956. Katherine manages the farm’s production of hay and beef cattle and her nephew Wendell E. Jones works the land.

Modern progressive farming techniques have characterized the recent history of the Corlew Farm, which dates to William and Eliza Pritchard Corlew’s 1847 acquistion of 240 acres located eight miles south of Clarksville. The founders and their four children lived in a two-story log house. While raising horses, cattle, mules, dairy cattle, swine and chickens, the family also cultivated tobacco, corn, wheat and oats.

Erwin and Louise Lowe Corlew were the farm’s second generation owners. In 1886, they built a new dwelling and fourteen years later, they expanded the house to meet the needs of their six children. Like his father, Erwin was a farmer of diversified crops and many kinds of animals. He wanted his children to have a good education; consequently, he donated land for the construction of the Pleasant Mound school.

In 1963, Lewis Lowe Corlew acquired 194 acres of the family land. Throughout the twentieth century, progressive agricultural practices have characterized the farm’s activities. “Continuous cultivation has been carried on,” according to the family, “with conservation practices such as building terraces, waterways, ponds, cover crops and fertilization.” In 1969, the Montgomery County Soil Conservation District named Lewis a “Master Conservation Farmer.” His agricultural commodities now include hay, soybeans, corn, tobacco and wheat.

The Dickson Farm, established in 1868 by John M. Dickson, is one half mile south of Southside. The founder, who married Martha Batson and fathered fourteen children, produced livestock, grains and tobacco on his 300 acres of land. John was a Civil War veteran, who worked this land until his death in the early twentieth century. Martha managed the property until her death in 1937.

One year later, Grafton Dickson inherited 127.5 acres of the property. He and his wife Gertrude Harned raised three children and their son John Edward Dickson acquired 47.5 acres of the farm in 1960. John, the grandson of the founder, has worked diligently to make this small tract of land productive. Today, John manages a herd of beef cattle.

The third Century Farm in Montgomery County to evolve from the original estate of John R. Elliott is the Edwin Elliott Farm, which is ten miles east of Clarksville. In 1885, Carline Langford Elliott, the founder’s granddaughter and the wife of David Gary Elliott, inherited 235 acres of the family land. The Elliotts and their six children raised grains, livestock and tobacco.

The farm’s next owner was Alva Eliott, the great grandson of the founder. He and his wife Daisy Frey, the parents of four children, worked 190 acres, specializing in tobacco production. In 1945, approximately 85 acres of the family land passed to Edwin Elliott, the great great grandson of John R. Elliott. Edwin presently manages 235 acres and plants grains and tobacco. John R. and Michael R. Davis, the founder’s great great great grandsons, carry out the farm’s everyday operations.

Descendents of John R. Elliott also own the Elliott Farm, located eleven miles east of Clarksville. The current owners, Carney Harris and Ralph Elliott, have been able to add some interesting details to the farm’s history. The second generation owners, Mary S. Langford and Dr. William Elliott, managed a limestone quarry and stone from the quarry “was used to build Glenraven, one of the most elaborately designed homes in nearby Robertson County.”

The founder’s great grandson, Richard Carney Elliott, was the third generation owner. Together with his spouse Mary Harris and his two sons, Carney and Ralph, Richard farmed 81 acres of the original Elliott land. His crops were tobacco, grains, swine and beef cattle.

In 1974, Carney and Ralph Elliott inherited the farm. The brothers manage almost 80 acres that yield both dark-fired and air-cured burley tobacco, wheat and corn. Currently working the land are the founder’s great great great grandsons, Michael R. and John R. Davis.

The production of dark-fired tobacco is an important element of Montgomery County’s agricultural history. The Davis Farm is one of the earliest Century Farms to specialize in the commodity. John R. Elliott, who owned 3,667 acres of land located eleven miles east of Clarksville, established the Davis farm at an undetermined time prior to the Civil War. Manager of one of the county’s largest plantations, Elliott processed dark-fired tobacco and cultivated over 100 acres of the plant. He married twice and only his daughter, Edith Ann Elliott, survived him. In 1885, she inherited 500 acres of the plantation, with the remainder of the land passing into the hands of the founder’s grandchildren.

Mary S. Langford was one of those grandchildren. She and her husband Dr. William S. Elliott farmed 397.5 acres, producing tobacco, grains and livestock. The Elliotts were the parents of seven children.

In 1964, Gilford Ray Davis, the great great grandson of John R. Elliott, inherited 102 acres of the original Elliott land. His crops are the same as those of the founder: livestock, grains and tobacco. Recent significant improvements to the property include new paved roads and the installation to a new waterline.

Dating to 1799, the Hargrove Farm is the second oldest Century Farm in Montgomery County and one of the few farms in Middle Tennessee to date to the eighteenth century. Its founders, John and Martha Green Hargrove, owned 503 acres eight miles south of Clarksville. Grains and livestock were their chief commodities.

The farm’s second generation owner was the founder’s son Thomas Green Hargrove. He and his wife Soannah Whittinton were the parents of four children. Except for their commodities of tobacco, grains and livestock, little else is known about this period in the farm’s history.

Herbert C. Hargrove, the founders’ great grandson, obtained 42 acres of the original family farm in 1952. Herbert operated the property for over 20 years, specializing in tobacco production. His widow now manages a farm of 242 acres. She reports that the Old Hargrove School, built in the nineteenth century, is intact and in use as a tobacco stripping room.

The Hinton Haven Farm dates to 1875 when Samuel A. and Julia Mills Hinton purchased 136 acres of land six miles south of Clarksville. They and their six children raised tobacco, grain crops and livestock. The second generation owners were Burr and Edgar Hinton, sons of the founders.

In 1946, David E. Hinton obtained 90 acres of his grandparents’ land. David now owns 208 acres. Until 1981, he operated a dairy business. He and his wife live on the farm, together with his daughter Myranel Hinton Harker and her husband James Harker.

Hoganswood Farm records in physical terms a remarkable continuity between nineteenth century and modern agricultural activities. John Hogan, IV, and his wife Caroline founded the Hoganswood Farm in 1866 at the conclusion of the Civil War. They initially owned 125 acres of land located twelve miles east of Clarksville, which they expanded to landholdings of 375 acres before selling 255 acres of the farm. A county magistrate, school trustee and member of the Mt. Carmel Methodist Church, John specialized in cultivating dark-fired tobacco. The family also grew sweet potatoes.

In 1903, the farm passed to the youngest of the founders’ ten children, Frank Lafayette Hogan. Married twice, Frank fathered four children. His crops were those of his father: tobacco and sweet potatoes. In 1940, Byron G. Hogan inherited 70 acres of the farm. Today, he manages 100 acres of land, sharing ownership with his sons Horace and Cleo. That the grandson and the two great grandsons produce the same commodities as the founders is an uncommon example of continuity in agricultural production over the decades. This persistence of farming patterns is made all the more interesting because the family uses three buildings dating to the mid-nineteenth century---a log dwelling, corn crib and smokehouse---in its daily operations.

The J & J Farm is located in the southeast corner of Montgomery County and was founded by Hannah Buckanan (H. B.) Wall in 1875. On 50 acres and he his wife, Margaret Elizabeth Proctor Wall, raised tobacco, fruit, swine, hay and cattle. The couple had fourteen children. After H. B.’s death, Margaret raised her children as well as several nieces and nephews, twenty three in all. She also oversaw the building of a house (ca. 1896) from trees milled on the farm. A woman of great fortitude, the family recalls that she continued farm work as long as she was able, even milking from a wheel chair in later years.

The next owners of the farm were sons, Sidney and H. B. Wall. During their ownership, the farm produced swine, hay, tobacco, corn, cattle and sheep. Sidney and his wife Lottie had six children and H. B. and Hattie had three.

In 1960, the grandson of the founders, John Robert Wall, acquired the land. Over the years, John has made some improvements to the farm by building a new house and being the first residence with running water on the farm. Today, John his son, Johnny Wayne, work the land raising cattle, swine, corn and hay. Today four generations of the Wall family including the owner, Johnny Wayne and his wife Beverly, and their children and grandchildren, live on the farm established by the Wall ancestors over 130 years ago.

Located 1.5 miles east of Guthrie, Kentucky lies the Maple Lawn Farm that was established by Jo Linebaugh in 1852. Married to Mary J. Linebaugh, the couple had six children. Their names were Irvin, Stanford, Maggie, William, James and Joseph T.

The next owner of the land was James Sterling Linebaugh, the son of Jo and Mary. Under his ownership, the farm cultivated tobacco and corn and raised cattle and hogs. In addition to managing the farm, James raised five children with his wife Margaret G. Linebaugh. As time moved on, two of the couple’s children, Eva Garrett Linebaugh and Mack Stacks Linebaugh acquired the farm.

In 1961, Eva passed away and her interest was inherited by her brother Mack. Along with his wife, Jane Beasley, Mack had two children. Their names were Margaret Jane and Mack S. Linebaugh, Jr.

In 1978, Mack S. Linebaugh, Jr. became the owner of the land. Today, Mack works the land with his neighbor James Slack and they cultivate soybeans, wheat, corn and tobacco on the farm.

In 1833, George and Elizabeth McCauley established the McCauley Hill Farm on 300 acres of land located six miles southeast of Clarksville. They owned a typical diversified farm of the period and their crops and commodities included tobacco, corn, cattle, swine, horses and “sheep for homespun wool.” After her husband’s death, Elizabeth McCauley operated a farm of 518 acres until her death in 1884. She added no new crops or livestock to those produced by her husband.

Penalope McCauley inherited the farm in 1884 and she placed the farm before a public auction. Her sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. R. D. Moseley, bought the place for $5,000. Twenty years later, R. D. Moseley died and left the farm to his daughter Corine Moseley Williams, who managed the 518 acres until 1933. Her son Robert Moseley Williams acquired the farm in that year.

For the last 53 years, Robert has managed all of the farm’s original acreage. His crops have included tobacco, corn and Angus cattle. He has also bred and shown Tennessee Walking Horses. In the 1970s, Robert made his sons and daughter co-owners of the McCauley Hill Farm and his son Richard now works the farm on a daily basis.

In 1889, Robert L. Menees founded the Meneess Brothers Farm two miles south of Kentucky State Line in Montgomery County. On 132 acres, he cultivated tobacco, wheat, corn and pasture. In addition, he raised mules, cattle and hogs. Married to Myra Droughan Menees, the couple had three children.

The next owner of the land was Robert’s and Myra’s son, Robert L. Menees, Jr. Under his ownership, the farm produced the same livestock and crops as the founder with the addition of barley, milo and alfalfa. In addition to managing the farm, Robert, Jr. helped his wife Katherine Kennedy Menees raise three children.

In 1967, Robert’s and Katherine’s sons, James L. Menees and Robert K. Menees became the owners of the farm. Today, the brothers still own the land and James works the land. The farm now produces corn, wheat, soybeans, burley tobacco, alfalfa, pasture and beef cattle.

Nichols Farm was founded in 1900 by Charles Ruben Nichols and his wife Annie Summerhill Nichols. Parents of nine children, the Nichols raised wheat, tobacco, and corn, cattle, and hogs on 400 acres. Three of their children, Charles R., Ruth and Georgia Nichols became the next owners of the land. Charles R. Nichols and his wife Linda lived and worked on the farm, raising hay and corn, among other crops, on the property which also supports woodlands. After Charles R. Nichols death in 2004, Linda completed the certification of the Century Farm application and retains ownership of the farm along with her sister-in-law Justine Nichols Jones of Anderson, Indiana.

Eighteen miles southeast of Clarksville stands the Powers Farm, established by B.C. and Susan Powers in 1847. They originally owned 50 acres. Physical evidence remains to suggest that the family once operated a grist mill on Yellow Creek. Existing records indicate that their crops were corn, tobacco, swine and cattle.

The founders raised four children and their son E. Wilson Powers was the second owner of the family land. Wilson, the husband of Mary Webb, built a special storage building for his annual sweet potato crop. He also produced corn, tobacco and livestock. In 1970, Louis Powers and his wife Anna Belle Cocke inherited 144 acres of the farm. Wendell Jones works the land for Mrs. Powers and looks after a herd of cattle.

Nearly 175 years ago, Jacob W. Rinehart purchased a farm that carries his name and which his descendents continue to work. Though the family has little information on Jacob and his wife, they know the names of six children-- John, Jacob, Pleasant, Abram, Mary Ann and Nancy.

It was Abram who acquired the farm in 1854. He and his wife Mary had five children. They also adopted brother Pleasant’s two children after his death. The farm supported a variety of crops and livestock.

In 1906, the grandson of the founder, John W. Rinehart obtained the property. He and his wife Betty, had three children. Eventually, one of their children, Boyd Rinehart, managed the farm and produced hay, tobacco, soybeans, wheat, cattle, hogs and chickens. Wed to Bessie Rinehart, the couple had two children, John and Ann.

The fifth generation to own the farm was John Boyd Rinehart who obtained the property in 1996. John and his wife Pat had two sons, Chris and Steve. On the 190 acres, the family raised tobacco, soybeans, corn, sorghum and cattle.

In 2006, Chris J. and Steve Rinehart became the owners of the farm. They mainly produce hay and have planted blueberries which they operate as an agritourism venture. Chris and Steve continue the tradition begun by their great, great, great grandparents on Rinehart Acres.

Adjacent to the Kentucky state line, the Teeter Farm was established by James and Francis Johnson in 1811. Over the next seven years, the founders made several additional land purchases and developed a farm of 932 acres. When James died in 1823, Francis Johnson inherited the farm. Her second husband, Thomas Hackney, helped her to manage the property and till its fields.

For the next 125 years, the property passed to different generations of the family. In 1948, Bettye Johnson Teeter inherited the farm and she and her husband Larry Teeter tilled the soil for the next six years. By the mid-1950s, however, the Teeters, like many Tennessee farmers in that decade, found that farm income was steadily decreasing. They decided to rent the land to the Doane Agricultural Service on a share-cropping arrangement and the company operated the farm until 1970. In that year, Laurence G. Teeter, Jr., assumed management of the family land and three years later, he purchased the property from his mother.

The great great great grandson of the founders, Teeter owns 212 acres of the original farm, together with an additional 2, 880. Operating one of the largest Century Farms in the state, Teeter produces corn, wheat, soybeans, barley, popcorn and tobacco. He reports that the early nineteenth century Johnson homeplace and a granary still stand on the property.

Located one miles north of the Dickson-Montgomery County line lies the Three C Farm that was founded by Will Dean Swift in 1890. On 112 acres, the farm produced hay, wheat, corn and tobacco. Married to Sarah Harvey Swift, the couple had five children. Their son-in-law, J. D. Corlew became the next owner of the land. Along with his wife, Lillian Swift Corlew, they raised one son, Charles D. Corlew. During their ownership, Lillian gave some land for the Mt. Zion Methodist Church to build a church.

In 1976, Charles D. Corlew, the grandson of the founder, acquired the property. Today, Charles and his wife Ann still own the land that primarily produces cattle and hay. According to the family, a tree that is growing on the farm was named the “champion southern red oak” in Mongomery County. A farm house that was constructed in the nineteenth century still stands on the property and is currently being occupied by Charles’ son, Charlie.

An interesting example of a rather small farm that has remained in production for almost 120 years is the Harvey Farm of Montgomery County. In 1868, William Harvey purchased 59 acres and established the Harvey Farm sixteen miles south of Clarksville. Harvey produced the same commodities as his neighbors-tobacco, grains and livestock. Seven years after the founding of the farm, Robert A. Harvey inherited the property. In 1926, seventeen and a half acres of the family land passed to the founder’s grandson, W. C. Harvey. For over 50 years, Harvey cultivated crops of tobacco and small grains. In addition, he managed a small herd of livestock. Today, his widow Blanche lives at the farm and supervises its activities.

The establishment of the Jones Farm is closely associated with the faltering fortunes of the nineteenth century iron industry in Tennessee. Dating to 1879, when James W. R. and Louisa Lyle Attaway purchased 235 acres of land, the Jones Farm is ten miles south of Clarksville. The Attaways acquired the property from the landholdings of the Vernon Furnace, a company that operated a 4,008 acre iron mine in the 17^th District of Montgomery County until 1878. The family’s chief agricultural products were cattle, swine, corn and tobacco.

Juliet Attaway Cocke and her husband Stephen M. Cocke were the second owners of this Century Farm. They changed nothing in the farm’s operations and left the farm to their daughter, Anna Belle Cocke Powers and her husband, Louis Powers. Mrs. Powers is the granddaughter of the founders and today she shares ownership with Wendell Jones, the great grandson of James and Louisa Attaway.

Wendell works the farm’s 334 acres, managing a herd of beef cattle. The farm retains a late nineteenth century dwelling and Wendell uses a chestnut log tobacco barn for storage.

Located 18 miles south of Clarksville, Welker Farm was founded in 1854 by Thomas Welker and his wife Mary Jane King Welker. The nearly 148-acre farm produced tobacco. The couple had four children, and their son, William Edward Welker, became the next owner of the land, along with wife Susanna Outlaw Welker. Their 62-acre farm also produced tobacco.

Today, the farm’s owners are the founder’s great-great-grandson Bobby A. Welker and wife Juanita Shelton Welker. Their now 238-acre farm currently produces tobacco, hay and supports beef cattle. A smokehouse and a chicken house, built previous to 1960, still stand on the land.