ROMANCE — Andrew Jackson Hughes and his wife, Sarah Elizabeth Marsh, came from McMinnville in Warren County, Tennessee, to settle in White County before 1850. Their son, Thomas Frank Hughes, married Mary E. Yancey in 1875 and bought 180 acres in 1908. The Hughes raised cotton on that land.
Twenty acres of that land, now known as Hughes and Hughes Farm, were recognized recently as a 2020 Arkansas Century Farm. The farm is currently owned by Myrtle Hughes and her son Paul Hughes and his wife, Lisa Hughes, who were unable to attend the Dec. 11 recognition ceremony in Little Rock because of COVID-19 restrictions.
“Agriculture is our state’s largest industry, one of every six jobs in Arkansas, creating 269,556 jobs for our state,” Myrtle Hughes said. “Arkansas is nationally ranked No. 1 in rice production.
“I am honored that Hughes and Hughes Farm has been recognized as an Arkansas Century Farm,” she said. “I appreciate Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward for their support of the Arkansas Century Farm program.”
Myrtle continued the family history:
“John Clarence Hughes married Lanta Mae Vardell in 1910,” Myrtle said. “He bought a part of the farm in 1940. They farmed cotton, strawberries and sorghum.
“Dueward Durant Hughes married Syble Lorene Shelby in 1931,” Myrtle said. “Dueward and Lorene bought 80 acres from the heirs of Thomas Frank Hughes.
“Delton Durant Hughes was about 2 when they moved to the farm,” she said. “Dueward used a team of mules to raise cotton, corn and cucumbers. They also had cows and sold some milk. Delton lived on the farm until about 1950; then his family moved to Searcy.”
Myrtle said she and Delton Durant Hughes married in 1960. They are parents of four children: Venecia Hughes Price, who is married to Ernie Price, and they live in Pleasant Plains; Paul Hughes, who is married to Lisa Cook Hughes, and they live in Gravel Hill; Marla Hughes Cook of Judsonia; and the late Timothy Durant Hughes.
“Delton and I bought 40 acres of the farm in 1989 from Lorene Hughes,” Myrtle said. “Paul and his wife, Lisa, moved to the farm at Gravel Hill in 1991. They have two children, Tiffany and Timmy, and both families live on the farm.”
Tiffany and her husband, Dustin Holeman, have two children — Nickolas Holeman, 15, and Jonathan Holeman, 9.
Timothy and his wife, Stevie, have four children — Jude Hughes, 11; Lilly Hughes, 9; Bowen Law, 8; and Addialee Hughes, 6.
“For several years, the Hughes and Hughes Farm partnered with Danny Hughes, an uncle, and raised registered Longhorn cattle for sale and show,” she said. “We were members of the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America.
“We also raised Mars grapes,” she said, adding that they were members of the Ozark Table Grape Growers Association, which was formed in 1985.
“The association grew four varieties of seedless table grapes,” she said. “They were Venus, Mars, Saturn and Reliance. The association sold to a broker in New York and several other places, but mostly in state. White County was the largest producer of Ozark Table Grapes.
“The biggest threats in raising grapes was the weather — early frost — and insects,” she said. “Hughes and Hughes Farm raised the Mars variety from 1990 to 1995. Paul just raises them for family and friends now.”
Myrtle said her son, Paul, has dedicated about 3 acres near a pond in memory of his brother, Timothy “Timmy” Durant Hughes, who died at the age of 4 with leukemia on July 22, 1969.
“This is for family get-togethers, especially on special days like Timmy’s birthday, Easter, the Fourth of July and other times for fishing, camping and fun,” she said.
Myrtle also grew up on a farm. Her parents, Luther and Jessie Bunker, “bought a small 80-acre farm at Higginson, and we moved from Prairie County to White County the last day of 1951,” she said. “My dad raised cotton and was able to buy his first tractor, a 1948 Case, which now sits in my yard.”
Hughes and Hughes Farm is now one of 494 farms currently recognized as Arkansas Century Farms throughout the state. The Arkansas Century Farm program recognizes Arkansas farms of 10 acres or more owned by the same family for at least 100 years. The program began in 2012 to highlight the contributions of these families to the agriculture industry, as well as their overall contributions to the state.
“Year after year, decade after decade and in the face of many challenges, Century Farm families go out and put everything on the line to earn a living and produce our food, our fabrics, our timber,” Hutchinson said. “Farm families are great for our economy, and they also are part of the fabric of our state. They imbue our state with the same common sense and solid values that are the bedrock of their family farm. For the good of Arkansas, I hope their children and grandchildren choose to continue the family farm, and that someday, Arkansas will create a Two-Century Farm Family program.”
For more information on the Arkansas Century Farm program, visit agriculture.arkansas.gov or call (501) 225-1598.