Agriculture + Lifestyle
Centennial Farm Program celebrates Georgia’s farming heritage
by Jennifer Whittaker
GFB Publications Editor
Posted on December 4, 2024 11:14 PM
Eighteen Georgia farms were recognized by the Georgia Centennial Farm Program this year. Farm families were honored at the Georgia National Fair in October. Photo by Nick Vassy/Ga. Dept. of Ag
This year’s Georgia Centennial Farm reception was especially meaningful considering the damage Georgia agriculture sustained from Hurricane Helene. Many of the farms recognized this year have been farming more than 100 years and have survived multiple wars, the boll weevil and the Great Depression.
“To be here today and receiving this award you have the heart of a lion. When others left, you stayed. You had that never-give-up, never-surrender mentality. There’s nothing half-hearted about the heart of a lion or farming,” said UGA Extension Southwest Agricultural & Natural Resources Development Coordinator Stephanie Hollifield.
Since 1993, the Georgia Centennial Farm Awards program has recognized farms operating for at least 100 years. The program began with Georgia Farm Bureau collaborating with other state agencies.
More than 630 farms have been recognized. This year, another 18 were celebrated during a ceremony held Oct. 9 at the Georgia National Fair bringing the total to just over 650.
“It’s not easy to keep anything going for 100 years. Our job as farmers is to look after the land and the resources the Good Lord gave us. I say all the time that I didn’t inherit my farm, I’m just taking care of it for my grandchildren,” Georgia Farm Bureau President Tom McCall said.
McCall shared Thomas Jefferson’s quote that extolls the virtues of agriculture, “Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness.”
The Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs administers the program with support from Georgia Farm Bureau, Georgia EMC, the Georgia Department of Agriculture, Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter and UGA Extension.
“The more 100-year farms we have, the more successful Georgia agriculture will continue to be,” Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper said. “Agriculture is a matter of national security. A nation that can’t feed itself can’t sustain itself. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want America to ever get there.”
2024 Centennial Heritage Farm Awards
This award honors farms owned by the same family for 100 years or more that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
• Rose Cottage Farm Bartow County
• Valley View Farm Bartow County
2024 Centennial Family Farm Awards
This award recognizes farms owned by members of the same family for 100 years or more.
• Aylesbury Acres Inc, Washington County
• Carter Farms, Lowndes County
• Crosby-Hatcher Farms, Mitchell County
• Crow Hill Farm, Habersham County
• F & M Farms, Franklin County
• Fountain Family Farm, Wilkinson County
• Freeman Family Farm, LLC, Monroe County
• J & J Farms, Jackson County
• Morgan Tree, Morgan County
• Mountain Scene Farms, Towns County
• Rogers Family Farm, Heard County
• Seaborn Thomas Bracewell Family Farm, Laurens County
• Silas Osteen Family Farm, Pierce County
• Simon Smith Estate, Tattnall County
• Turkey Creek Farm, Twiggs County
• Vaughn Farm, Dodge County
Mountain Scene Farms/Photo courtesy of HPD
One farm’s story
Mountain Scene Farms began in 1857 when James Rutherford Wyly sold his farm and brick house to Ezekiel Brown. The brick house from the Wyly era is said to be the oldest brick house in Towns County, dating to the early 1800s.
After Ezekiel’s death, his nephew, William Clinton Brown, bought the farm from Ezekiel’s children.
William’s youngest son, Walter Scott Brown, graduated from UGA in 1917. A few years after the creation of the Cooperative Extension Service, Walter served as the first Extension Agent in Towns County. Walter later became the state director of the Georgia Agricultural Extension Service and was a co-founder of the Rock Eagle 4-H Center near Eatonton.
Walter’s daughter, Sarah Brown Riley, recalls visiting the farm her father grew up on as a child.
“My grandmother was 80 years old when I was born. I remember her going to get her water from the well. That impressed me very much because I was used to turning on water spigots.”
Mrs. Riley said she played a lot in the river and climbed mountains during her childhood visits.
Today, Walter’s grandchildren, led by Frank R. Riley Jr., own the farm. Frank grows sunflowers and combines the seeds. He raises sweet corn that he sells at a roadside stand and grows vegetables in high tunnel greenhouses.
“It’s amazing to be part of a 167-year-old farm,” Frank said. “We’re looking to put it into a conservation easement to protect it against development.”
How to nominate a farm
To nominate a farm, for more information or to download an application, visit www.gfb.ag/centennialfarmsapply or email outreach@dca.ga.gov. The postmark deadline for applications is May 1 of each year. Qualifying farms are recognized each October during a ceremony held at the Georgia National Fair.
In addition to the Centennial Family Farm and Centennial Heritage Family Farm categories, the program offers a third award. The Centennial Farm Award does not require continual family ownership, but farms must be at least 100 years old and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.