007 JEFFERSON COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 24, 2006
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947


Hickman Hollow Farm is 15th In County Recognized for Ag. Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—The Hickman Hollow Farm in Jefferson County recently was designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the campus of MTSU.
Mahlon Winstead established the Hickman Hollow Farm in 1883. On 200 acres, he raised corn, small grains, tobacco and cattle. In addition to managing the farm, Mahlon owned and operated a livery stable and owned additional property where Jefferson City (incorporated in 1901) is now located. Married to Mattie Winstead, the couple had six children.
The second owners of the farm were Mahlon and Mattie’s granddaughter, Ethel Winstead Hickman, and her husband Lonzo Hickman. Progressive farmers, the Hickmans made many improvements to the property such as remodeling the house, building a dairy barn and chicken houses, and running water and electricity to the farm. The couple also began making the transition from animal power to machinery when they purchased the farm’s first tractor. Ethel and Lonzo cultivated corn, small grains and tobacco and had a dairy herd and chickens. One of their children was Ross Mahlon Hickman, and his wife, Billie Jean, acquired the farm in 1977.
Today, the son of Ross and Billie Jean, Bill Ross Hickman, who also is the great-great-grandson of the founders, is in charge of the farm’s production. He and wife Gail raise beef cattle and hay on this farm that has been in his family for 123 years.
The Hickman Hollow Farm joins 15 other historic farms in Jefferson County that have been certified as Century Farms, Hankins reported.
The Century Farm Program recognizes the contributions of Tennessee residents who have continuously owned, and kept in production, family land for at least 100 years. Since 1984, the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU has been a leader in the important work of documenting Tennessee’s agricultural heritage and history through the Tennessee Century Farm Program, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign to Century Farm families, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production.”

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To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state and all 95 counties are represented.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” said Hankins, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.



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• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request an interview with the owners of this farm, or to obtain a jpeg of the farm for editorial use, please contact the Center for Historic Preservation at 615-898-2947.