J.A. Norman Farms
THE FARM HISTORY
HOW IT ALL STARTED
Early in the 1800's, James Mitchell Norman and his wife Ruth Tillman Norman homesteaded this land. They had twelve children in all, with six of his sons serving in the military during the Civil War. These men are in the photo to the right.
One of his sons, Joel Samuel Norman, lived and worked here as a wheel wright building and repairing wheels for all horse and mule drawn transportation. He is in the center and standing in the picture. He served his fellow man and his community by making many coffins by hand and giving them away free of charge. All of this was done after suffering from a bullet wound in the chest and neck area in a battle in Tennessee. He was a man of noble character and integrity.
THE FARM GROWS
Third generation Joel Ansel Norman raised a large family of his own here. He was a saw mill man all of his life. Joel Ansel did very little actual farming but always had a garden with fresh vegetables to make sure that no one in his family went hungry.
After Joel Ansel's passing, his young seventeen year old son Joel Ansel, Jr. took over on the farm. Great responsibility fell on his shoulders that day but he was a man up to the task.
With his older brothers Preston and Horace off serving during the Great War and his mother and younger siblings at home, times were difficult. Yet through his faith in God and lots of hard work, the size and productivity of the farm grew to what it is today.
Along the way, he met a beautiful young lady named Bama on a fishing trip to Florida. That was 67 years ago. Today, J.A. is 92 and still very active and planning for the future, although he may "rest his eyes" during a Braves baseball game now and then.
