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by Fred Dailey
Director, Ohio Department of Agriculture

The words of Ohio bicentennial farm owner Lucille Gelter of West Union could not better describe why the Ohio Department of Agriculture is honoring Ohio’s 13 bicentennial farms. Gelter said we must "preserve the best of the past for the benefit of the present and future generations."

That is why we want to reflect on the contributions of 13 families whose working farms have been in the same family since Ohio’s statehood in 1803 – or longer. We honored the legacies of these farms that were carved by hand out of the Northwest Territory, where our ancestors knew the fertile soil would sustain agriculture for many years to come.

These 13 farms remain a part of agriculture today, an industry that has for more than two centuries been a key to Ohio’s economic and social stability. They have stood the test of time because they were established with a strong foundation. Each has a story we can marvel at – and learn from.

The family patriarchs were Americans who believed in freedom and chose to pursue their dreams as farmers. Many of these first Ohio farmers received land grants for their military service. The Smiley Farm in Seaman – the Ohio farm that has been in the same family the longest – was deeded to Alexander Smiley by King George III of England in 1772. Most other Ohio founders accepted their grants from the Virginia Military after service in the Revolutionary War.

The locations of these farms are evidence that Ohio was settled from the south. Four of the 13 bicentennial farms are in Adams or Hamilton County right along the Ohio River. Only two are located north of where I-70 runs today.

The desire to put down roots in Ohio’s rich soil was so strong for the pioneers that each persevered despite the everyday hostilities of life on the frontier. William Cromley, the founder of the Cromley Farms in Ashville, rode his horse all the way from Lancaster, Pa., to Chillicothe with saddlebags full of gold coins to purchase his 1,500-acre plot. Fredrick Harman walked the 300 miles back to Westmoreland, Pa., to retrieve his family after his horse was Indian-rustled while he staked his claim in Lancaster.

Today, the families who run these earliest farms strive to keep their farms viable for future generations.

Take, for example, the Kirker family of West Union, who in the early- to mid-1900s, implemented conservation practices on their Kirkwood Farm that included digging ponds and springs, clearing land and seeding waterways. Today, the farm established by Thomas Kirker, the second governor of Ohio, is still farmed by descendents of its original family, thanks to many generations of progressive stewardship.

As each generation improves their farms, they deepen their bond to the land and the history it holds.

Many of these farm owners admit that their hearts guided their decision to stay on the farm. The social aspects – family, community, and the quiet, picturesque locale – often outweigh economic factors when the decision to remain is made and re-made. This is farmland preservation at its most basic level.

Continuing the farm is in their successors’ hearts and minds because they have inherited a love for the land and the agriculture industry. For some, the only insurance that the farm will continue is the indelible sense of family history and an intergenerational love of the land. Bicentennial farm owner Dixie Smith of Fairfield County said: "Families need to have a home or farm to return to in this age of mobility and relocation."

Not only have these farms been beacons of home for two centuries of Ohio families, they also symbolize agriculture as a guiding light for Ohio’s economy. As we struggle through trying economic times, it is important to find bright spots within our economy, and agriculture is one of those.

Ohio farmer Glen Greely McIlroy, the grandfather of current bicentennial farm owner Susan McIlroy, once applied a popular saying to agriculture that transcends the generations: "What’s best for agriculture is best for the nation’s economy." Since statehood, agriculture has been Ohio’s top industry, and today contributes more than $73 billion a year to Ohio’s economy, providing on- and off-farm jobs for one in six Ohioans, and allowing rural communities to prosper.

Each of the state’s 78,000 family farms can look to these bicentennial farms as good examples of sustainable agriculture. They should be proud of the social and economic stability that their farms continue to provide into Ohio’s third century.