[463] Giles County Farm Joins Ranks of State's Century Farms Program

MURFREESBORO —The Humphrey Farm in Giles County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms Program at the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU.

The Century Farms Program recognizes the contributions of Tennessee residents who have owned and kept family land in continuous agricultural production for at least 100 years.  

James E.  “Jim” Humphrey and Mary Humphrey founded the Humphrey Farm in 1896 on 155 acres north of Pulaski. They were married for 30 years and had five children – Forest, Ed, Grady, Effie and Sally – before Jim, a Confederate veteran, purchased this farm. The family raised hogs, cows and horses while growing hay, cotton and corn. They also had orchards that produced apples, peaches, pears and grapes.

In 1935, Jim and Mary’s only surviving son, Ed, acquired 79 acres of the farm and the original farmhouse. He lived on the farm his entire life and continued to produce similar crops and livestock. In addition to this income from the farm, Ed trained bird dogs and hunted. He and his wife, Reba, had one child Billy. Reba was the owner for a time after Ed’s death.

Billy acquired the family acreage in 1968. He and his wife, Sarah Oakleen Humphrey, had one son, Rex. After Billy passed away in 2009, Sarah Humphrey took over the management. She currently leases the land to a family friend, Barry Alsup. She has some cattle, works a garden and is involved in all decisions involving the farming operations. The Humphrey Farm is Giles County’s 31st farm certified Tennessee Century Farm.

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 Farms Program.

For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit www.tncenturyfarms.org. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132 or 615-898-2947.

• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview the farm’s owner or request jpegs of the farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP at 615-898-2947.

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