Earnest Farms Historic District
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Earnest Farms Historic District
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Tobacco barn and silos at the Broyles Farm
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| Location | Greene County, at Chuckey, Tennessee |
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| Coordinates | 36°11′54″N 82°40′51″W / 36.19833°N 82.68083°WCoordinates: 36°11′54″N 82°40′51″W / 36.19833°N 82.68083°W |
| Area | appx. 900 acres (360 ha) |
| Built | 1782–1951 |
| Architectural style |
Federal, Bungalow, Italianate influence, I-house |
| MPS | Transformation of the Nolichucky Valley MPS |
| NRHP Reference # | 01001449 |
| Added to NRHP | January 11, 2002 |
The Earnest Farms Historic District is a historic district consisting of four historic farms and associated structures near the community of Chuckey in Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The farms include the Elmwood Farm, the Broyles Farm, the Crum Farm, and the Jim Earnest Farm, all of which were initially developed by early pioneer Henry Earnest (1732–1809) and his descendants in the late-18th and 19th centuries. The district includes the Ebenezer Methodist Church, which is home to the oldest Methodist congregation in Tennessee, and the Earnest Fort House, which is one of the oldest houses in the state. Elmwood Farm has been designated a century farm and is one of the oldest farms in Tennessee, having been cultivated continuously since 1777.
Henry Earnest settled along the banks of the Nolichucky River in 1774 and built the Earnest Fort House on a bluff overlooking the river in 1782. Earnest donated the land for the Ebenezer Methodist Church, which was completed in 1795 and ordained that same year by Bishop Francis Asbury. When Earnest died in 1809, his land was divided up among his children, with his son Peter receiving what is now the Elmwood Farm and son Henry Earnest, Jr. receiving what is now the Broyles Farm. Throughout the 19th century, the Earnests operated their farms as small business enterprises, selling much of their produce for profits. In the early 20th century, the Broyles family purchased the Henry Earnest, Jr. Farm and in subsequent years converted it into a dairy farming operation. The historic district contains 43 contributing structures or sites.
The Nolichucky River bends in a half-rectangle around the Earnest Farms Historic District, forming its eastern, northern, and western boundaries, the exception being the Earnest Fort House, which lies immediately north of the river. The Crum Farm is the easternmost farm in the district, with the Nolichucky running along its eastern and northern boundaries. The Broyles Farm is immediately west of the Crum Farm, and Elmwood Farm is immediately west of the Broyles Farm. The Jim Earnest Farm is immediately southwest of Elmwood, with the river flowing along the western boundary of the Elmwood and Jim Earnest farms. The southern boundaries of all four farms collectively provide the district's southern boundary.
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