Step Into Living History
The Sadie Ford Heritage Farm & Cultural Art Center gives visitors a chance to experience rural Tennessee life from the early 1900s.
Located just across from Cedars of Lebanon State Park, the farm features a restored farmhouse, barns, fields, and natural landscapes that bring the region’s agricultural past to life.
What You Can Do Today
Explore the 1920s-era home of Delta and Sadie Ford. Period furnishings, photographs, and artifacts highlight early cultural life and the park’s history. The farmhouse also serves as a museum, classroom, and event space.
Step inside the livestock barn, milking barn, and corncrib. Displays of tools and equipment showcase how families worked and lived on farms of this era.
Watch goats and chickens in their pens and learn about crops like corn, sorghum, cotton, tobacco, wheat, and heirloom vegetables. These working demonstrations connect visitors to the rhythms of early 20th-century farm life.
Experience hands-on programs with local artisans and historians. Activities include blacksmithing, weaving, corn milling, beekeeping, gardening, riving wood shingles, and even cooking molasses.
The farm partners with Wilson County artists and heritage groups to host special events that celebrate traditional crafts, music, and community culture.
Step back in time at the Tom Jones Broom Shop at Sadie Ford Heritage Farm. This working shop keeps the art of traditional broom-making alive. Visitors can watch live demonstrations, learn about the craft’s history, and take home a beautifully made broom — both functional and deeply rooted in local tradition.
Natural and Educational Value
Beyond history, the farm protects 65 acres of cedar glades, barrens, and woodlands. Restoration projects improve wildlife and plant habitats.
The farm also partners with schools for outdoor classrooms and with universities to support ecological studies and research.
Why It Matters
As the last pre-park farm in the area, Sadie Ford offers an immersive, year-round learning experience. It tells the story of Tennessee’s farming heritage, traditional skills, and the families who once lived here.
It also preserves the history of those displaced by Roosevelt’s New Deal programs, ensuring their stories are remembered alongside the land they left behind.
