Farm Life
Farming has always played a large role in Chatham’s economy. As you will notice throughout the recordings, however, what farmers produce – be it poultry, cattle, tobacco, or corn – and how they produce it has changed quite dramatically in Chatham over the past century. Throughout these changes, however, family-owned farms, many of which have been passed down from generation to generation, have remained an important part of the county; as of 2022, family farms accounted for nearly 98% of Chatham farms.
Today, Chatham has become a leader in sustainable farming practices and a hub for agro-tourism, farm-to-table programs, and cooperatives. And while the tremendous growth in the county poses several challenges to the continuation of farming in Chatham, new initiatives like the Chatham Agricultural Preservation and Development Trust Fund are helping to ensure that Chatham’s agrarian roots are preserved and supported for future generations.
A tenant farmer in Chatham, 1939. Due to the Jim Crow laws in the South, many Black farmers were forced into sharecropping, an exploitive system in which landlords kept poor farmers tied to the land through debt. However, many Black families in Chatham were ultimately able to own farm land. The history and legacy of Black farmers is explored more in Black Voices.
A farm in Silk Hope, a farming community located around 7 miles Northwest of Siler City. "Silk Hope" as one resident puts it, "is all about the cows,"
Two tobacco farmers using a mechanical planter to plant tobacco, 1939, taken by Dorothea Lange. Lange on her trip to document the rural South.
Chatham Marketplace (above) and the Chatham Real Food Market (below), groceries where shoppers can purchase locally-grown produces
Listen to the Recordings
Connie McAdams
Organic Farming
Description:
McAdams discusses the popularity of small organic farms in Chatham
Transcript:
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Shorty Cash
Mules
Description:
Cash talks about growing up on a farm and some of the by-hand methods he used
Transcript:
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Joyce Cotten
Milk Cow
Description:
Cotten describes the passing down of the farm chores from youngest to oldest
Transcript:
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Andy Wilkie
Salt of the Earth
Description:
Wilkie talks about the enduring character of Chatham farmers
Transcript:
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Mary Wilkie
New Rules
Description:
Wilkie describes the impact of the arrival of the chicken plants
Transcript:
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Larry Smith
No Dummy
Description:
Smith remembers a stubborn mule he was in charge of as a child
Transcript:
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Barbara Pugh
Dairy Cows
Description:
Pugh recounts her daily chores around her father's one-man dairy farm
Transcript:
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John Phillips
Went on Forever
Description:
Phillips describes his labor-intensive work helping out on tobacco farms as a kid
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James Horton
My Role Model
Description:
Horton remembers his time as a kid working on his father's farm
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Yvonne Goldston
Wild Kingdom
Description:
Goldston remembers the wild kingdom just outside city limits
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Etta Foushee
The Smokehouse
Description:
Foushee talks about the inner workings of the smokehouse
Transcript:
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Robert Alston
Different Work Ethic
Description:
Alston recalls the growing up on a farm
Transcript:
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