Widner-Magers Farm Historic District
Added to the National Registry of Historic Places - February 2007
Just North of Dell, Mississippi County, Arkansas
A Collection of Plain Traditional-Style Agricultural Structures built between 1912 and 1939
The Mission of the Widner-Magers Farm Historic District is to promote and celebrate the unique agricultural experience of the Mississippi Delta in Northeast Arkansas, through the research and preservation of the farm buildings and early 20th century farm life; and to provide educational opportunities to experience 20th century farm life and folk culture.
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A view from the flower garden!
Does anyone have a SHOTGUN HOUSE or other tenant/sharecropper house or out-building in this area that you would like to donate? Please help us find some original structures! Email us! backatthefarm1938@yahoo.com
Please Note: We are still restoring several of the buildings. Therefore we regret that we are not open to the public at this date. Hopefully, in Fall 2010, we will begin opening for special tours. Selected workshops on historic crafts and trades may be available also. We will keep you posted! So visit this site often! A Member of Many thanks to those who have generously donated items to the Widner-Magers Farm: Dave & Shirley Short, Prim, AR; Marguarite Brownlee and Family, Dell; Bobby Hogan, Dell; Bo Whistle, Dell; Charles Parrish, Sherwood, Ar; Catherine Boren, Gosnell, Ar; Sandra Carpenter, Dell; Phillip Brown, Jonesboro, Ar; Mr. & Mrs. Chris Christenson, Calumet, Ar; Joe Chipman, Manila, Ar; Kevin Gerber, Marmaduke, Ar
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"A farmer has to be an optimist or he wouldn't still be a farmer." (Will Rogers)
Magers Barn ca 1967, built ca 1930; photo by Curtis Duncan; known as the C C Duncan Farm from 1957-2004
Shotgun House ca 1960, built ca 1930; photo by Curtis Duncan
Hog Barn ca 1967; photo by Curtis Duncan
Farm Shop ca 1967, built ca 1939; photo by Curtis Duncan
Tenant House ca 1964, built ca 1938; photo by Curtis Duncan |
We each have our place in time, and if we live right, we change that place and that time for the better. NEW PHOTOS & UPDATES BELOW!!!!
The "Necessity House"
News as it Happens 'Here at the Farm' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July 26-the second shotgun building arrived!
July 22-My Gooodness! So much has happened these last two months! The storm damage has been repaired. The first of our three shotgun buildings has been moved in. We have definitely decided to eventually rent them out to visitors as a B & B="Bed and Barbeque!" Hopefully, we can do that next year. The 'company store' (C A's grocery) will be complete by October, when we will begin a few scheduled tours. Photos later..... Donations keep coming in! Listings later..... Maintenance is on-going..... We were interviewed on camera just this week by the Junior Reporters at ANC (Blytheville). They will be putting together a short news brief about the farm.
Joe Chipman will be using photos of him on our store porch for the cover of his new CD, soon to be out. Photos will also be used for his promotional material. We are very excited.....(Joe's first CD is for sale at: dellarkansas.com) The Widner barn has been cleared out and room has been made to display the antique farm equipment. Sissy (the resident barn owl) has a new boyfriend. We're hoping they'll tie the knot and have babies for us soon! Check back in the next few days for other up-dates!!!!!! May 24-A terrible storm today--winds 60+mph, hail, and 4" of rain in 30 minutes. One corner of the Magers barn was ripped apart. The cotton crop is a total loss. This week will have to be spent making repairs. Such is a farmer's life... April 24-The "shells" of three shotgun houses are being built by Mennonites at Graceland Buildings in Tunican, Mississippi. Scheduled to arrive sometime in June, the houses will eventually be finished inside and used for a gift/infomation center and for B&B's. We can't wait to get started!
April 16-The logs are loaded and on their way! CLICK HERE to see a few of the photos of the big move!
April 1-John & I traveled to "The Homeplace" at Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky this week for an up-close look at the 1850s living history museum. We were almost the only people there, so we got a lot of personal attention, ideas, and instruction. We visited 2 log houses and numerous log barns and out-buildings. I took over 100 photos. We met Charley Fox, who constructed the two-story log house, and enjoyed his stories and input. The weather was beautiful. Now we're anxious to get started on our log house! John and Dave will be moving it from Prim the first "pretty" weekend. Mar 29-John and Ryan are hard at work on the grocery interior.
Mar 19-Another Farmall for the farm! This one's for Dru! It's a1952 Super C, much like our Farmall H but smaller. In great shape and ready for spring plowing!
Mar 6-Grocery store update:Constructing a cabinet. Moving the post office in. Hanging a few signs. John & Ryan have been busy! Feb 26-We attended the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show in Memphis, TN. Outstanding booths, machinery, give-aways, and exhibits. Very informative and lots of fun. Feb 15-John has been working on the store interior. The weather this winter has made it hard for him to work much in the cold.The log home is still in Prim--too muddy to get a semi truck backed in to load up! Maybe next month? Feb 1-The Everett-Short Log Home may be older than we first thought! John takes samples of the original chinking to be analyzed by the chemistry department at Black River Technical College in Pocahontas, AR. Jan--We received a wonderful gift from Kevin Gerber of Marmaduke, AR. Inheriting his grandfather's vintage farm equipment, Kevin called us early in January with the offer to donate the entire collection to the farm. Of course, we were thrilled and touched that someone would give so generously to our efforts here. Thanks so much Kevin!
Jan 29-31--Ice! Snow! Frozen Fog! What did we do to keep cabin fever at bay? We made Pumpkin Butter! The Native Americans kept pumpkins all winter long as a food source, so we did, too. But, since we know spring will be here soon, it was time to replenish our pantry with the spicy, sweet treat. Grand total: Pumpkin Butter: 20 pts, 3 qts., and plenty for biscuits now; Dried Pumpkin: 2 qts; Frozen Pumpkin: 6 pts for pies and side dishes. Wow! |
For questions, or to send information, contact: backatthefarm1938@yahoo.com *Farm Life:"Cotton was, as it is now, a major crop in Dell. Those were the days of the balky mules, riding plows, straw bosses, milking chores in the morning and afternoon. . ." "Another day at the farm: the diary of a farm manager's wife"; recipes; canning & preserving; treadle sewing machines; tenant quilts (view these links at a later date)
*Farm Equipment: early farm equipment
* Farm Architecture: the shotgun house; the four square tenant house; the pig barn; the mule barn; the farm shop (view this link at a later date)
* Farm Style: the decor of a farm manager's home
*Farm Fashion:then & now
The Widner-Magers Farm Historic District is featured in the July 2009 Rural Arkansas Magazine! We would like to thank all of you for the encouraging emails, phone calls, and visits.
Spring Plowing 2010
Cotton Pickin' Time 2009
Picking Up Modules |
Links to: dellarkansas.com The Dell History Web site Curtis C. Duncan Photography Our Cotton Patch, LLC, Dell, Arkansas |
For
questions, or to send information, contact: backatthefarm1938@yahoo.com |
Much of what is profoundly American--what people love about America--has come from The Delta |
| MsCoAR USGen Web |
Agricultural Architecture: The
Widner-Magers Farm Historic District allows us to display the unique folk architecture
that defined the Arkansas Mississippi Delta in the early 20th century
through building styles, materials, and work function. 
