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Breedlove Farm Records

Breedlove Farm Records

Descriptive Summary

Title: Breedlove Farm Records
Creator: Breedlove Farm
Inclusive Dates: 1837-2013
Bulk Dates: 1920-1993
Language(s): English
Extent: 3 box(es) (1.25 linear feet and 104 megabytes)
Collection Number: RBRL340
Repository: Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
Abstract: Breedlove Farm was located in Watkinsville, Oconee County, Georgia, and was owned and operated by William Henry Breedlove beginning in 1941. The records primarily document the ownership and use of the land and, to a lesser degree, the career and family of Breedlove himself, and includes ledgers, surveys, maps, deeds, certificates and commissions, printed materials, photographs, film, and digital files.

Collection Description

Historical Note

Breedlove Farm was located on Colham Ferry Road in Watkinsville, Oconee County, Georgia, and was owned by William Henry Breedlove. His father, J. Hardy Breedlove, initially rented the land for row cropping, beginning in the early 1930s.

William Breedlove was born February 14, 1913, in Oconee County, Georgia. He attended the University of Georgia from 1934 until 1936, at which time he returned home to help on the farm. He started farming on his own in 1939, eventually acquiring about 20 dairy cows, and purchased the farm outright in 1941. By 1942, electricity had reached the farms of Oconee County and Breedlove introduced milking machines to his dairy production, increasing the herd to around 65 cows. During that same year, Breedlove launched a pasture-building program, which had the farm growing alfalfa, kudzu and a variety of grasses to feed the cows. In 1948, Breedlove increased the herd once again to roughly 85 cows and started selling the farm's milk to the Athens Cooperating Creamery.

On June 1, 1941, Breedlove married Dorothy Leila Jackson, in Lavonia, Georgia. Dorothy was born May 14, 1913, and graduated from Lavonia High School and the University of Georgia. She was a school teacher and a life member of the National Education Association, a member of National Retired Teachers Association, Georgia Teachers Association, and Athens Area Retired Teachers Association.

The Breedloves had two children, Claire Breedlove Milton and Ann Breedlove Powers. Claire is a graduate of Oconee County High School, the University of Georgia and Auburn University. She is married to Edward Van Milton. Ann was a graduate of Brenau Academy, Gainesville, Georgia, and the University of Georgia. She taught school and later attended Auburn University School of Architecture. She was married to Allen Powers; their children are Frances and William. Ann Breedlove Powers died on November 10, 2015.

The Breedlove family received the 1957 Master Farm Family Award, sponsored by The Progressive Farmer magazine and the University of Georgia's Agricultural Extension Service, in recognition of their notable accomplishments in "farming, homemaking and citizenship." They were later designated as the Outstanding Farm Family of 1963 by the Oconee County Farm Bureau.

Apart from farming, William Breedlove, a Democrat, served two terms (1953-1954 and 1959-1960) as State Senator from Georgia's 27th District. In 1957, he began his tenure as a supervisor of the Oconee River Soil and Water Conservation District, garnering the outstanding conservation award for 35 years of exemplary service in November 1982. Breedlove was a director of Oconee State Bank for over 30 years, beginning in 1960, and also served from 1958 to 1973 as a director of the Federal Land Bank Association in Madison, Georgia.

Dorothy J. Breedlove died January 30, 1994. William H. Breedlove died April 16, 1996.

As the farm passed from one generation to the next, the Powers and Miltons made efforts to maintain the integrity of Breedlove Farm and to insure the preservation and protection of the land and water resources by filing conservation easements for portions of their property in favor of the Athens Land Trust and Oconee County.

In January 2011, Breedlove Farm was re-established as the Pastures of Rose Creek, a 345-acre farm founded by Ann Powers, her son Will Powers, and other members of the family and operated by Will. This new incarnation of the farm primarily raises cattle to produce grass-fed beef and produces organic vegetables and eggs to sell at local farmers markets. The original Breedlove family house still stands and was the home of Ann and Allen Powers.

Scope and Content

The Breedlove Farm Records document the ownership and use of the land that comprised the farm and, to a lesser extent, the career and family of William H. Breedlove and include ledgers, surveys, maps, deeds, certificates and commissions, printed materials, photographs, film, and digital files. The bulk of the collection is comprised of deeds and property records that trace the transfer, from owner to owner, of land that would become the Breedlove Farm. Ledgers reveal the operations of the farm prior to Breedlove's ownership and during the period in which his father, J. Hardy Breedlove, rented the land. Later records illustrate the family's efforts to protect the land through easements and dedicated preservation plans. Other material includes certificates and resolutions honoring Breedlove's political and civic activities and photographs of the farm and family members. The digital files are scans of original material retained by the Breedlove family.

Organization and Arrangement

The records are arranged generally in chronological order and by format.


Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

This collection contains digital files. To access these files, please request the folders you would like through the finding aid using your research account. An archivist will be in contact with you to explain how to access the files. Please note that not all file formats are currently supported by the library for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Library acts as "fair use" reproduction agent.

Copyright Information

Before material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permissions. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.

Finding Aid Publication

Finding Aid prepared by Mat Darby, 2014.


Related Materials and Subjects

Subject Terms

Agriculture -- Georgia
Breedlove, Dorothy J., 1913-1994
Breedlove, William H., 1913-1996
Land use, Rural
Oconee County (Ga.)

Related Collections in this Repository

D. W. Brooks Papers

Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, Series II. Business

Dudley Mays Hughes Collection

Related Collections in Other Repositories

Georgia Cooperative Extension Service pictures, Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library


Series Descriptions and Folder Listing

 
boxfolder
11Farm ledger [with loose papers], 1920-1921
 
12Farm ledger, 1925, 1929
 
13Farm ledger [with loose papers], 1933-1934
 
14Farm ledger [with loose papers], 1935-1936
 
15Farm ledger, 1942
 
boxfolder
21History [file of Dorothy Breedlove], 1932-1980
 
22Deed, John Thompson to Aaron Bearden, 300 acres, 1837 September 26
 
23Warranty Deed, Parthenia Bearden to Simeon Crow, 1880 June 7
 
24Abstract, J. O. Chandler Land, 1920 January 26
 
25Abstract of Title made for Mrs. Susie Effie Akins, 1923 August 20
 
25Security Deed, Mrs. Susie Effie Akins, 1925 November 21
 
26Deeds, 1937-1977
 
27Abstract of Deed, James C. Breedlove to William H. Breedlove, 1965 January 11
 
28Survey Map and Warranty Deed for James M. Mayne to be conveyed to T. Chandler, 1886 November 29, 10 December
 
29Survey Map, Lot 2 and Lot 6, T. T. Chandler Estate, 1914 June
 
210Survey Map [Breedlove Property], 1941 March
 
211Farm Aerial Survey [photocopies], 1969
 
212Loans and Bills of Sale, 1941-1993
 
213William H. Breedlove, District Plan No. 2480, Work Unit O-547-B, 1953
 
214Farm Serial No. 405, Farm Operator, William H. Breedlove, County - Oconee, undated
 
Conservation Easement [pages 34 and 35], 2011 December 20
 
boxfolder
215Certificate of Merit, William H. Breedlove, Oconee River Soil Conservation District, 1964
 
216Certificate of Service, William H. Breedlove, Oconee State Bank, 1990 August 11
 
217Photographs: Farm, Gilbert Howell on tractor, 1942
 
218Photographs: Fuller unloads fertilizer at farm, 1942
 
219Photographs: William H. Breedlove and Agricultural Agent Ronnie Stephens at farm, 1943
 
220Photographs: William H. Breedlove and farm scenes, 1943
 
221Photographs: William H. Breedlove and Frank Hector, contractor, circa 1950
 
222Photographs: Oconee River Soil Conservation District Supervisors leave for National Convention, circa 1948
 
223Photographs: Oconee River Soil Conservation District Supervisors, 1948
 
224Photographs: Oconee River Soil Conservation District Supervisors at State Convention, Macon, Georgia, 1951 November
 
225Photographs: The Progressive Farmer [includes captions], 1959
 
226Photographs: Farm Soil Conservation Plan tour for ministers in Oconee River District, 1962 May 2
 
227Photographs: William H. Breedlove and others with Governor Lester Maddox, 1960s
 
228Photographs: Claire Breedlove (on left), dairy princess, with William H. Breedlove and American Dairy Princess, 1960s
 
229Photographs: William H. Breedlove presents award for Georgia Farm Bureau Federation, 1972
 
230Photographs: Oconee State Bank Board of Directors break ground for Bogart branch, circa 1980
 
boxfolder
31[Oversize Maps], 1941-1953
 
32Members of the Senate, State of Georgia, 1953-1954, 1959-1960
 
33Commission as Georgia Senator from 27th District, William H. Breedlove , 1953, 1959
 
34The Progressive Farmer [includes two articles featuring the Breedlove Family], 1959 March
 
35Resolution to William H. Breedlove for being instrumental in organizing and founding Oconee State Bank Board of Directors, 1990 December 14
 
36H.R. No. 205 commending William H. Breedlove on the occasion of his 80th birthday, 1993 February 10
 
item
UC RBRL/340/16mm_0001Audiovisual: Woods and A Way [features William and Dorothy Breedlove], circa 1950 ( 1 moving_image(s) )
 
electronic_records
ER 1[Appraisal and Conservation Reports] [digital files], 2003-2012
Appraisal of Powers Breedlove Tract [digital files], 2011 September 10
Conservation Plan for Powers Family Farm [digital files], 2003 January 14
Deed of Conservation Easement [digital files], 2004 February 13
Preservation Plan [digital files], 2012 May 7
 
electronic_records
ER 2[Articles and Conservation Report] [digital files], 2006-2013
 
electronic_records
ER 3[Family Photographs] [digital files], undated