Davis Sesquicentennial Farm is example of state’s rural heritage

By Rhonda Westfall

Family heritage and a love of the land remain at the core of the Davis homestead in Clinton County, despite the fact that a basketball court occupies space in the barn today, rather than the menagerie of farm animals that used to call it home. The working farm, located in Bingham Township southwest of St. Johns, is one of over 6,100 centennial and sesquicentennial operations in Michigan.

The intrinsic values of land stewardship and hard work that are the backbone of the state’s agriculture heritage were transmitted to the farm’s current owners, Jim and Debi Davis, from Jim's parents, Don and Alma Davis.

"It’s been a blessing to us," Alma said of the sixth generation of the Davis clan who now own the Sesquicentennial Farm that has been in the family for 168 years.

That feeling is undoubtedly echoed by anyone whose land is certified by the Michigan Historical Commission as a Centennial Farm. The bright green and yellow markers - or in some cases, the black and white ones that were first used when the Centennial Farm program began in 1948 - dot the countryside in each of the state’s counties.

The signs stand as a monument to the tradition of agriculture and of the farming roots that run deep in so many Michigan families.

"If it weren’t for the heritage here, we probably would not have done it," Jim says of the decision in 1994 to purchase the farm and undertake major renovations to the house. "That history is important to us - seeing that heritage continue."

Farmstead holds memories

A visual reminder of Davis family members who are part of that heritage is particularly evident in a unique wallpaper montage that holds a place of honor in the living room. Jim and Debi saved scraps of wallpaper from the layers that were removed in various parts of the house during the remodeling process and used them to create the ‘home portrait.’

"A particularly interesting piece dates from the time when Jim's great-great-great-grandmother, Julia Norris, lived here," Debi says of the black, dotted-swiss fabric that was used as a border across the top of a flecked burgundy wallpaper in the original living room of the home.

"This woman had a vision for beauty - she used what she had to work with to create it."

Don and Alma have an abundance of memories associated with the farmstead that had been Don’s home since 1931 - and the couples' since their wedding day April 30, 1949.

"In the mid-1930s, a gas engine John Deere was put in the basement with a line shaft that had a pulley and belts to run for working the ice cream freezer and butter churn," Don recalls, adding that an ice box in the basement kept butter, milk, and eggs cool.

"We cut ice out of the lake in blocks about 18 or 24 inches square and a foot thick. We would haul it to a building where sawdust was placed on the floor and the ice blocks were then placed in layers between sawdust … it would last until late summer without melting."

Don continues to remain as an active participant in the day-to-day routine of the farm - despite his and Alma’s so-called ‘retirement’ in 1994 - helping both at the homestead and at the neighboring farm of another Davis son, Bob.

Jim and Debi are grateful for the opportunity to provide experiences for their six children that Jim recalls from his years on the farm with his own four siblings.

"One of the highlights of the summer was swimming and fishing in Stony Creek," Jim says of the meandering stream that is a 'stone's throw' away from the barnyard. "Lots of the memories I have of growing up here, they're getting to create, too - they love it here."