Damascus family honored for 100 years of farming

DAMASCUS — David Baxter Fowler was born in Madison County, Alabama, in 1844. He came to Arkansas several years later, where he met and later married Sarah Malinda Hogue in 1870 in Conway County. One of their 10 children, Thomas Jefferson Fowler, who was born in Arkansas, started in 1919 what is known today as the Bradford Family Farm in Damascus.

The Bradford Family Farm is one of 30 farms recognized recently by the Arkansas Century Farm Program, administered by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. Several members of the Bradford family attended the recognition ceremony in December at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Little Rock.

Thomas Jefferson Fowler, who was born in 1886 and died in 1970, and his wife, Mary Morrison, who was born in 1889 and died in 1967, farmed the 40 acres that qualified the family for the Century Farm honor.

“I appreciate the honor for our family,” said Barbara Fowler Bradford, 70, a granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson and Mary Fowler, who owned the property until 1970. “I remember Tom and Mary. They raised a lot of things … corn, peanuts, tobacco, cotton.”

The land passed from Thomas Jefferson and Mary Fowler to their son, Royal Omes Fowler, who was born in 1913 and died in 2000, and his wife, Luerene Miranda Scritchfield, who was born in 1916 and died in 2004. Royal and Luerene, who were married in 1935, owned the land from 1970 to 1998.

“Royal had dairy cows and made cheese,” Barbara said. “He also had fruit trees. He raised pigs, too.”

Barbara said she and her husband, Jerry Bradford, 71, are now retired. They recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

The Bradfords assumed ownership of the farm in 1998. Barbara also had a florist business, and Jerry had his own business, Bradford Heat & Air.

Their sons and their families also live on the farm.

The Bradfords’ older son, Bart Bradford, 46, planted loblolly pines on the farm in 1999.

“We’re raising that for the timber,” said Bart, who has one son, Skylar, 15, who also helps on the farm.

Bart now manages the family business — Bradford Heat & Air.

Skylar attends South Side Bee Branch High School. He is the one who did all the research about the farm and gathered all the deeds necessary to show the farm is at least 100 years old.

“I started in March,” he said. “We had a bunch of deeds, and Mawmaw had a lot of information, too.”

Skylar is now trying to get the family cemetery — Fowler Cemetery — recognized on the Arkansas State Historical Register.

The Bradfords’ younger son, Blake Bradford, and his wife, Shauna, have one son, Hunter, 7, who also attends school in the South Side Bee Branch School District. Blake is in the automotive and restoration business; he also drives a race car. Shauna is a full-time nurse.

Blake and Hunter help with the bees the family raises for honey.

The Bradfords also raise hogs. Skylar and Hunter both show Hampshire hogs. While Hunter is just starting this endeavor, Skylar has been showing hogs for several years, winning grand championships at various livestock shows.

Skylar is a member of 4-H and FFA, serving as an officer in FFA. Hunter is getting ready to join 4-H. Both are members of the Boy Scouts of America.

The Arkansas Century Farm program recognizes Arkansas farms of 10 acres or more owned by the same family for at least 100 years. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture began the Century Farm program 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,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson told the Century Family Farm recipients. “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.

CAROL ROLF/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER The Bradford Family Farm of Damascus has been recognized as a 2020 Arkansas Century Farm. Members of the family include, from left, Barbara Fowler Bradford; Jerry Bradford; Bart Bradford; Skylar Bradford, 15; Shauna Bradford, with 7-year-old Hunter Bradford holding the sign and Blake Bradford. The farm was established in 1919.

CAROL ROLF/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER The men in the Bradford family enjoy hunting a variety of wild game. Family members are, back row, from left, Blake Bradford; Shauna Bradford; Skylar Bradford, 15; Bart Bradford; Barbara Bradford; and Jerry Bradford; and in front, Hunter Bradford, 7. “We hunt, and she cooks,” Jerry said, laughing, referring to the mounts on the wall and to his wife, Barbara.

SUBMITTED PHOTOS Luerene Scritchfield and Royal Omes Fowler pose for a photograph on the farm in their younger days. Luerene and Royal were married in 1935 in Faulkner County.

Luerene and Royal Omes “R.O.” Fowler are shown at a Christmas gathering. She died in 2004, and he died in 2000. Both are buried at the Fowler Cemetery in Damascus.