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Putnam County

Putnam County is located in the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee and was named in honor of Revolutionary War General Israel Putnam. Its county seat is Cookeville. The railroad industry has played an important role in the county’s history and the town of Cookeville has a National Register listed Tennessee Central depot that serves as a local museum for the community. The county is also home to Tennessee Technological University and the Joe L. Evins Appalachian Center for Crafts, which supports the modern practice of traditional crafts. Putnam County has seven Century Farms and the oldest is the Hunter Cove Farm that was established in 1814. For more information regarding Putnam County, please go to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History & Culture website.

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

Boyd Jerseys 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

Boyd Jerseys Farm

Dibrell M. Boyd

High yields in dairy production comprise the contribution of the Boyd Jerseys Farm to Tennessee agriculture. In 1852, John L. and Sallie Lyda Boyd established the Boyd family farm on 260 acres located five miles southeast of Cookeville. The Boyds and their four sons raised the typical crops of the region-corn, hay, cattle and swine. George Dibrell Boyd acquired 60 acres of the farm in 1903. Operating a dairy, George made enough money to expand his farm to 205 acres of land.

George married Belle Nicholas and they raised seven children. In 1948, their son Dibrell inherited 42 acres of the farm. The farm now consists of 83 acres of land. Dibrell is a dairy farming expert and in 1984, he and his son David managed the “second highest milk producing dairy herd in the United States.”

Holloway Farm

David M. Judd

Located two miles southeast of Cookeville, the Holloway Farm dates to 1839 when Charles and Elizabeth Lollar Huddleston acquired title to approximately 215 acres of land. The family harvested crops of corn, wheat and rye and managed herds of cattle, swine and horses. Charles also played an active role in establishing the local Salem Church. The founders were the parents of nine children and, between 1852 and 1855, their son Jordan Huddleston acquired 178 acres of the family land. Jordan, his wife Mary Bradford and their five children changed little in the daily patterns of farm operations, growing crops of corn, wheat and rye.

In 1901, Jordan willed 80 acres to his sons, B. M. and Coey Huddleston. Sixty-two years later, the heirs of B. M. Huddleston deeded ten acres to Bobby L. and Carolyn Judd Holloway. Carolyn is the great great great granddaughter of the founders. Today, Carolyn’s brother David M. Judd owns the land.

Hunter Cove Farm

Dan Bohannon

Hunter Cove Farm is one of the oldest and most historic farms in Putnam County. Located nine miles southeast of Cookeville, the farm dates to 1814 when William and Sarah Boone Hunter purchased approximately 100 acres of land. Sarah was the niece of Daniel Boone, the famous pioneer. In time, the Hunters managed several thousand acres of land and owned a number of slaves. Their chief products included lumber, corn and oxen. The family also raised swine in the open countryside.

The founders were the parents of two children and in 1848, their son Dudley Hunter inherited an estate of over 5,000 acres. Dudley transformed the farm into a major plantation, with his slaves building a new brick house. To reflect his wealth and status, Dudley bred racehorses and built a track. He also “acquired a farm near Sparta for family residence during winter school months.” Early in the Civil War, however, a group of Texas Raiders murdered Hunter on the public square in Sparta when he resisted the seizure of his black stallion. His death left his mother Sarah and his wife Amy Lowery Hunter to manage the farm. For the remainder of the war, life was extremely difficult at Hunter Cove. Amy even found herself leading “ox carts to Louisville by the Old Kentucky Road to exchange barter for supplies.”

In 1883, Rush Hunter obtained about 300 acres of the family land and established a new farmstead. A founder of the Dry Valley Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Rush was a progressive farmer who invested in breeding mules and improved the farm’s water supply. His crops included corn, wheat, oats, millet and peas and he raised mules, cattle, swine and sheep. Married twice and the father of fifteen children, Hunter took an active interest in local education and was an organizer of the community’s first “subscription school.”

Upon Rush’s death, his wife Levenia Watson Hunter inherited the land and operated it in partnership with her son, Arnold W. Hunter. Arnold was the next owner of Hunter Cove Farm and he managed the property until his death in 1979. One of the region’s leading farmers, he served on the Farm Bureau and the White County Tobacco Board and was a member of the Tennessee Livestock Association and the Hereford Breeders Association.

His widow, Vallie Huddleston Hunter, became the farm’s next owner. She supervised operations that produced winter wheat, soybeans, hay and beef cattle. Three buildings built by Rush Hunter between 1877 and 1878-the farmhouse, smokehouse and barn-remain intact and in use on the farm today. Dan Bohannon owns the farm today.

Judd Farm

David M. Judd

The Judd Farm, located two miles southeast of Cookeville, is the second Century Farm in Putnam County to evolve from the original farmstead of Charles and Elizabeth Lollar Huddleston. The farm shares a common history with that of the Holloway Farm until 1954. At that time, B. M. Huddleston deeded 70 acres of family land to his daughter Arlie and her husband John W. Judd. Between 1955 and 1968, Arlie and John transferred title to 63.4 acres to their son David M. Judd, who still practices general agriculture on this Putnam County land.

Pearson Farm

Ronald W. Martin

Mules on the Pearson Farm

Prize winning progressive farming has marked the recent history of the Pearson Farm, which is located four miles north of Cookeville. In 1856, Joseph and Tempie Clark Pearson founded the Pearson Farm. They possessed 1,200 acres on which they grew small grains and corn and raised cattle and swine. A local political leader, John served as the first trustee in Putnam County. At the close of the Civil War, in 1865, 180 acres of the farm passed to Francis Pearson Thompson, the daughter of the founders. Francis, who married William Thompson, was the mother of seven children. Together the family produced corn, wheat, cattle and swine.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the farm passed through the hands of two additional generations of the Pearson family. In 1937, Oral and Neta Pearson inherited 60 acres from their parents, Robert N. and Mary Wilmoth Pearson. For almost 50 years, Oral and Neta have operated the farm, specializing in hay and registered Polled Hereford cattle production. Oral has won several agricultural awards, including the “Master Conservation Farmer” award in 1963 and the “Champion Pasture” award in 1965. Today, Ronald W. Martin owns the land.

Photo: Oral Pearson of Putnam County poses with his mules, which were often treated as favored members of the family. In fact, farmers often spent more time with their mules than they did with their family.

Rockwell Farm

Deloy Rockwell

Dating to the acquisition of 150 acres in 1869, the Rockwell Farm is six miles east of Cookeville. Its founders, Robert and Sarah Buck Rockwell, operated a diversified farm of corn, rye, wheat, barley and livestock. In 1884, the farm was divided between the six remaining children of Robert and Sarah Rockwell and their son, Loyd Rockwell, became its second owner. Although he added no new crops or livestock to his operations, Loyd improved the farm by building new farm structures and aiding in local road construction. He married Rebecca Burnett and they were the parents of ten children.

In 1935, the farm passed to H. Dealer Rockwell, the grandson of the founders. Dealer, his wife Eunica Barnes and their seven children continued to modernize the farm’s activities; they introduced new breeds of livestock as well. The family also fertilized its land, which increased crop yields. Deloy M. Rockwell, the farm’s present manager, acquired 60 acres from his parents in 1968. Today, his brother J. L. Rockwell harvests the farm’s annual hay crop.

Shanks Farm

Miriam Shanks Gwaltney

In the 11^th District of Putnam County stands the Shanks Farm, which dates to 1859 when Craven M. and Nancy Henley Shanks acquired title to 165 acres of land. Raising herds of swine, sheep and cattle, the Shanks cultivated corn, dark tobacco and sorghum cane. They also worked a small patch of cotton to provide clothing for the family. During the Civil War, Craven served in the Union army.

Robert F. and Ann Anderson Shanks were the farm’s second generation owners. In 1918, their son Luke Shanks obtained approximately 200 acres of farmland. By 1976, Luke and his son George Shanks managed a farm of 574 acres and raised tobacco and beef cattle. Four years later, Miriam Shanks Gwaltney, the great granddaughter of Craven and Nancy Shanks, acquired 164 acres of the original farm. She now supervises 274 acres, which produce tobacco and beef cattle.