Century Farms
by Brenda Kellow
7 April 2007
More and more the subject of lectures, genealogy classes and articles pertain to recognizing and marking century farms across America. The Family Land Heritage program hands out award certificates each year to families who have continuously held the title to the land and worked the farm for over 100 years. Since 1972, the Texas Family Land Heritage Program Texas has been operating as an agency under the Texas Department of Agriculture. Most other states recognize and honor the property also.
Several years ago at a luncheon in another state, speaker Helen Leary presented a genealogy of her family homestead. She covered the various new additions added over the years, the remodeling from time to time, and all the owners identified from deeds. She even compiled the neighbors’ names, and documented the street realignment. I found this a fascinating approach springing from family history research, but I had not previously thought of it in this light.
It is common practice to document and collect information on the sales and purchases of ancestors’ land. Genealogists collect data on purchases and sales from the land offices and grants and donation parcels that may include several states. All of us collect this from the courthouses. I doubt few of us have done anything further with this information except to note it in research reports and genealogy computer databases. We do as we are taught—follow the land and the money. In my case, nothing further was suggested for using this information, so I tossed it in my files.
Now that I live on one of my ancestor’s farm, I am inspired to use the deed searches from my previous research to write a genealogy of the property. I intend to find out what crops were grown on it during the past. I’m sure it was partially used for farming as well as for raising cattle because of the special fencing separating one pasture from another. There is an alley between the fenced pasture and cultivated farmland for the purpose of moving farm machinery from one area to another. There has not been any farming on the property for much of my lifetime. The property is now used for raising cattle, and we plan on continuing this tradition.
I have a picture of the old farmhouse that was torn down in 1986 and replaced with a new brick home for the resident family. From the courthouse I have acquired deeds going back to the formation of Collin County in 1846. Why didn’t I think of writing a history of the home and property many years ago when I was gathering the information of my family living in this area? The information when presented to the Heritage Program will qualify for a Century Farm Certificate and plaque.
The Family Land Heritage Program, formed in 1972, recognizes farms and ranches that have been in continuous agricultural operation by the same family for 100 years or more. The Texas Department of Agriculture homepage states that the Family Land Heritage Program is “designed to recognize and chronicle the unique history of Texas agriculture and the men and women who settled this great state and continue the tradition today.”
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history and both teaches and lectures on genealogy. Send reunions, announcements, notices of books to review and other queries to: [email protected]. No research commissions are accepted.