Between 1819 and 1829, Joseph Clinard was granted four Tennessee land grants in Robertson County, Tennessee totaling around 104 acres. Over the years, he added on to that original tract eventually acquiring around 600 acres. He sold portions of this acreage to his sons Brown, Sanford and Wiley, where they set up homesteads. His oldest son, Washington, also purchased a large tract of land in the same vicinity. His daughters, Matilda and Elizabeth married local farmers in the community.

 

    In 1861, Joseph’s third son, Brown Clinard, aged 37, joined the 30th Tennessee Infantry Regiment for the Confederate States of America (CSA). During the Battle of Fort Donelson in February, 1862, he was captured and sent to a Union prison, Camp Butler, in Springfield, Illinois, where he died on March 30, 1862. His estate was settled in 1865, dispersing his property to his widow, Eliza, and his two children from his first marriage, Benjamin Boyd and Nancy Evaline Clinard.

 

    Benjamin Boyd and his wife Sallie lived in the old smoke house (pictured above) while building their farm house, which remained standing until 2006. The large livestock barn that Benjamin Boyd built in the late 1880s-early 1900s still stands, with traces of the original cedar shake roof still visible under it’s tin roof. The old corn crib makes a handy storage shed today, as well as the sturdy tobacco barn built by John Willie and Robin Paul Bowie. One of the original small homesteads built in the late 1880s and lived in by several family members over the years still stands on the farm, and awaits renovation as a guest house.

 

    Cattle, sheep, hogs and chickens were raised for food and to sale, with horses and mules to tend the land, and dogs to herd the livestock. Corn, wheat, and sorghum were raised, with cutting and harvesting of hay a constant chore. Dark-fired tobacco was king in Robertson County and our farm has several tobacco barns that prove we toiled in the industry. The century-old fruit trees are almost gone, but memories of freshly-made apple pie from those small but tasty little apples still linger. The family apple cider press still resides in the old smoke house, awaiting its next use.

 

    When Benjamin Boyd died, he left the farm to his three sons, Paul, Garland, and Jones Clinard and daughter, Jessie Clinard Bowie. Jessie and her husband, John Willie Bowie, lived on the farm until her death. The portion of the farm that was inherited by Jessie was left to her youngest son, James Boyd Bowie at her death in 1955. The house was rented for a number of years before James Boyd and his wife, Rose, moved there in 1985. James Boyd still lives there today. One of his three daughters, Linda Bowie Dorris and her husband, Glen, built a house on a portion of his tract in the 1990s and still reside there.

 

    Paul Clinard inherited the portion of the farm that had the original Clinard farm house and buildings and in 1945, sold this tract to Robin Earl Bowie, the oldest son of Jessie and John Willie Bowie and grandson of Benjamin Boyd Clinard. Robin and his wife, Thelma, farmed the land until Thelma passed away in 2001 at the age of 91. She still maintained the farm with her beloved herd of cows until the last year of her life. Robin and Thelma’s son, Robin Paul Bowie, and his wife, Carol, purchased the adjacent farm in 1994 that had been part of Joseph Clinard’s original farm, as well as his son’s Sanford’s tract. In 2005, they gave their children, Jeff Bowie and Jamie Bowie Dudiak, a portion of the original family farm.

 

    The original Clinard house and farm buildings were included in the part of the farm given to Jamie Dudiak. After trying to restore the old homestead, she and her husband regretfully decided to tear down the late 1800s farmhouse and start fresh. Their new house is reminiscent of the old farmhouse, with a wrap-around porch facing the pond out back. A blueberry and raspberry patch has been planted in the old garden which is still producing a great patch of vegetables. A hive of honey bees stands sentinel on the edge of the alfalfa field, just where it did when Jamie’s father, Robin, kept his hives when growing up.

 

    On Robin and Carol Bowie’s side of the farm, old homestead sites dot the landscape. The Bowies live in a farmhouse built in the 1950s that replaced an old log home that had been dismantled. The original small log barn and a large livestock barn remain on the site. Just across the hill, Robin and Carol’s son, Jeff Bowie, along with Danny Warren, a long-time family friend, built a log cabin close to the original homestead site of Joseph Clinard.

    

    On the back side of the farm are three other homestead sites, with the remains of one log cabin, known as “the old Huffman cabin” still standing. In the spring, these house sites declare themselves with a colorful array of blooming old-fashioned daffodils, roses, bridal wreath shrubs and creeping phlox. Each of these homesteads are situated near a water source, either a spring or creek, which was a life source for the settlers.