Century Farms

The Tennessee Century Farms Program, administered by the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University, identifies, documents and recognizes farms owned by the same family for at least 100 years. To date, more than 2,300 farms have been certified.

The Center for Historic Preservation maintains the Century Farms database, which includes information and photographs primarily provided by participating farm families. In 1986, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and the Center for Historic Preservation published “Tennessee Agriculture: A Century Farms Perspective.” The book-length study includes descriptions of each farm along with color and black-and-white photographs.

Free Digital Book

In 2026, the original book was updated in recognition of the 40th anniversary of its publication. The new illustrated edition, “Tennessee’s Frontier Century Farms: An Enduring Legacy of Family, Farming, and Community,” documents the history and legacy of the state’s earliest Century Farms.  A free digital copy is available to the public.

The Century Farms Program has fostered partnerships among the Center for Historic Preservation, local historical societies, county Extension offices, city and county governments, and chambers of commerce. Those partnerships were strengthened through the traveling exhibit “Tennessee’s Century Farms: Change and Continuity Over 200 Years of Farming.” Funded by the Center for Historic Preservation and the Tennessee Humanities Council, the exhibit toured the state in 1988 and 1989.

The Center for Historic Preservation also expanded rural preservation efforts by successfully nominating several historic family farms to the National Register of Historic Places. This work paved the way for the innovative Historic Family Farms of Middle Tennessee multiple-property nomination. Considered a model for rural preservation, it was the first thematic nomination in the country to address historic farmsteads.

Working with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and the Tennessee Historical Commission, the Center for Historic Preservation serves as a clearinghouse for information about the Tennessee Century Farms Program and National Register documentation of farms. The center also serves as a national leader in the documentation and interpretation of historic family farms.

For more information about the Tennessee Century Farms Program, including a downloadable application and a county-by-county list of Century Farms, visit www.tncenturyfarms.org.

Related link: MTSU Center for Historic Preservation.

For questions about Century Farm applications or existing farm files, contact:

Antoinette G. van Zelm, Ph.D.
Director, Tennessee Century Farms Program

Center for Historic Preservation

Middle Tennessee State University,

Box 80, Murfreesboro, TN 37132

615-898-2947

For questions about Century Farm signs, email centuryfarms@tn.gov or call 615-837-5103.