Mary Juanella Shea
Located south of
In 1861, their son, Samuel Turney Qualls became the second owner
of the farm and operated it for over seventy years. Married to
Charity Jeanette Bilbery, the couple had ten children. Their daughter, Lou May Norrod, acquired the
farm in 1933. Lou May and her husband, Curtis Norrod farmed the land and grew
wheat, oats, soybeans, corn, tobacco, and hay. In addition, they raised cows,
horses, mules and sheep. During the 1930s, Lou May and Curtis added more
buildings to the landscape with the construction of a tobacco barn, a wash
house and a chicken house. While managing the farm, the couple also raised a large family that included Virgie, Opal,
Bill, F.B. , E. C., Johnnie Mae, Georgie, Bennie, Viola, and Mary Juanella.
In 1969, Mary Juanella, the founders’ grant granddaughter,
acquired the farm. Today, she and her husband, Dennis Shea, raise cows, tobacco
and hay. Their nephew, Tony Kratz, works the land. The farm has many
significant outbuildings including a smoke house, a lumber house and a spring
house that were constructed by the founder. In addition, a chicken house, and
wash house built in the 1930s still
stand today. The founder and other
family members are buried in the
Photo:
This lumber house on the Archibald Qualls Farm was built by the founder.
Dorise Crabtree
South of Hilman, William Crawford founded the Crawford Farm in
1824. He and his wife Margarette had
children. The family raised cattle,
corn, horses and pigs. Around 1840, Crawford’s Mill was constructed on
In 1888, Maunce Crawford acquired
the farm. Along with his wife Agnes Wilson Crawford, the family, which included
ten children, raised cattle, horses,
goats, pigs, corn and hay. In 1939, the
farm was deeded to Bertha Crawford
Barnes.
Today, Bertha’s daughter, Dorise
Crabtree is the fifth generation of her family to own the farm. Barbara G.
McCloud and Betty J. Winningham are also owners of this property. Currently, the farm is worked by Lester
Green, Dorise’s son-in-law, and produces cattle and hay.
Photo: Barns on the Crawford Farm.
Ken E. Dodson
In 1856, the Rev. Thomas R. Dodson moved from upper east
The next generation to own the land
was their son, John Larkin Dodson. Married twice, he fathered eight children.
During his ownership, the farm produced a variety of livestock and crops. According to the family,
a weekly “trade day” where local farmers gathered to buy and sell livestock was
held on the farm.
Tommie C. Dodson, a son of John
Larkin Dodson, who owned the land until
he died in 1962. At that time, the property was divided into 1/3 interests to
different heirs. In 1991 and 1992, the
current owner, Ken E. Dodson II, whose father Kenneth Edward Dodson was a son
of Tommie Dodson, purchased 40.8 acres
of the farm from two of the three heirs.
Today, Ken, his wife, Gretchen and their daughters, Sydney and Harley,
live on the farm which currently produces hay and cattle. Dodson’s
Chapel still stands as a reminder of the family’s ties and contributions
to the community.
In 1870, Francis Marion Gore established
a farm located west of
During Lester’s ownership, he operated
his own blacksmith shop and made his own tools to work with on the farm. In the
1930s and 1940s, Lester improved the farm by purchasing a tractor for the farm
and building a barn and corncrib.
According to the family, Lester worked
with the Agricultural
Stabilization and Conservation Service office, now
known as the Farm Services Administration-USDA, and
helped with progressive farming efforts such as constructing ponds and sewing
seeds. As a result of his contributions to American agriculture, he received a
certificate of recognition for his work. Upon Lester’s death, the land then
passed to Lester’s wife,
Bob Gore Farm
The Bob Gore Farm is owned by Agnes Carr,
the great-granddaughter of founders Francis Marion and Sarah Boyd Gore. Since
1991, Agnes’ siblings, William Glen Gore and Reba Ann Flatt, have held partial
ownership of the land, though Agnes and her husband Earl operate this part of
the original Gore Farm. They continue to maintain and use a barn constructed in
1933 and a crib built in 1949 and raise cattle.
F. M. Gore Farm
In May of 1991, Lester’s daughter and the great granddaughter of
the founder, Reba Gore Flatt acquired the land. Today, Reba, her husband, Leon, her son Dale
Flatt, his wife
Leck Gore Farm
Today, Reba Flatt, Agnes Carr and William
Glen Gore own the Leck Gore Farm. Co-owner William—along with his son, Gary,
and his two daughters, Martha and Margaret—live on the property.
Sue Hancock Pope
The couple who established the Hancock Farm were widely
known in
In 1949, the grandson of the founder and the nephew of John Floyd,
Major Richard Arlon Jones Hancock acquired the farm. He and his wife Clara Paul
Hancock had five children. The family
raised corn, hay, cattle and swine.
In 2003, Brenda Sue Hancock Pope, Kenneth Hancock, Louise (Smith)
Stover, and Alphis (Ray) Smith, great-grandchildren of Amos and
Millard V. Oakley
Farms that originated from land grants and have remained in the
family until the present are rare in
The second owner of the property was Gilbert’s son, George
Christian Sr. who he eventually deeded the land to his son, George Christian
Jr. Generations, all named Christian, retained ownership of the farm until 1973
when Millard V. Oakley and his brother purchased the property. Oakley’s uncle,
Marvin Brown, was the great-grandson of George Christian Jr.
Today, Millard Oakley raises cattle on the 1,200 acres. A white
frame house that was constructed by the Christian family in 1902 still stands
on the property. In addition, the Christian family cemetery is located on the
property. The family reports that the graves of slaves are also located on the
farm.
James M. Allred
In 1831, Jonathan Allred established a farm southeast of
Livingston on the
Bailey Allred became the second
generation to own the farm. The family believes that the farm may have been
given to Bailey and his wife Sarah Copeland Allred as a wedding gift. The couple had ten children and two of their sons, Larkin and Jonathan A. Allred became the next owners of the
land. Under the brothers’ ownership, the farm increased to over 3,000 acres.
Jonathan’s son, Bailey Frederic Allred was the fourth owner. In
addition to managing the farm, Bailey was as a teacher in the community as was
his father and grandfather. Bailey’s
children became the fifth generation owners of the farm, though one of the
children, James Lowell Allred acquired the property in the 1950s. In 1986, James
Michael Allred and Jane Mynatt obtained the land.
Today, the founder’s great great great grandson, James M. Allred
owns the farm and raises cattle, chickens and hay. Married to Martha Burnette Allred, the couple are the
parents of Mike and Joe Allred. Over the years, the Allreds have participated
in agricultural organizations such as the Farm Bureau the Home Demonstration
Club. Allred was honored as
Mayme Swallows
Located in the Rickman community, the Stockton Farm , over 150
years old, is one of many Century Farms
that generations of women have owned and operated. In 1851, William Cannon founded the 236 acre
farm and he and his wife Eliza Jane Copeland Carr Cannon raised corn, cattle
and hay. In 1906, Rebecca “Willie”
Stockton, the step daughter of the founder and daughter of Eliza, acquired the
farm. She and her husband Joseph Allison Stockton raised hay, cattle and
tobacco. About 20 acres were in
wetlands. The couple’s had two daughters, Lizzie Sara Stockton
Verble and Mayme Stockton Davis, acquired the farm in 1947. The
In 1979, the great granddaughter of Eliza Cannon, Mayme Catherine Swallows became the owner of the farm. She reports that thee farmhouse built prior to the Civil War and a 1929 barn are part of the 225 acres farm on which cattle and hay are raised. The family has a wonderful collection of photographs including one picturing Eliza and her daughter Willie and granddaughters. A rare photograph pictures Eliza by the open coffin of her husband, farm founder William Cannon.
Howard & Betty Wells
Also over 150 years old is the Wells Farm which dates to 1852 when
James Gilliland established a farm of about
347 acres. During the Civil
War, Gilliland operated a general store
that was a hub of activity and commerce for the surrounding area. The family reports that the store carried a
wide variety of merchandise including hardware, dry goods, groceries, tools and
even coffins and burial clothes. Many of these items were brought up from
Elihu Wells, the husband of Bithiah, one of the Gilliland’s daughters, became the next owner
of the farm in 1881. The couple raised
seven children on the land given to them by her father. Elihu also served as the rural mail carrier
and taught school at the Oak Hill Institute.
Moody Wells, born during the Civil War and one of Elihu and Lillie’s
eight children, became the third generation owner in 1899. Like his father, Moody was the rural mail
carrier and a teacher at Oak Hill. Moody and his wife Martha Ann Pugh had four
children. In 1934, Martha was deeded the
property by her husband Moody before his death in 1938. She
continued to live on the farm and her two sons Herman and Rupert raised cattle
and hay. After Martha’s death in
1956, Herman acquired the farm. Along with his wife Mildred Maynard Wells and
their four children, they raised cattle and hay. Besides managing the farm,
Herman continued the family tradition by teaching school and also operating a
general store in the Oak Hill community.
Herman’s son Howard Wells became the sixth generation owner in
1958. Howard and his wife Betty Little Wells make their home on the farm where
they raised their two children, Bryan and Stephanie Wells Norris who now have
families of their own. Howard is a
rural mail carrier and served for twenty-five years on the Overton County Farm
Bureau Board and the Overton County Co-op board. Betty is retired after teaching kindergarten
for 25 years at