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Farming For A Better Future, page 353
Kelly, pooled their funds of $2,000 and purchased a 154-acre farmstead that had historically been a part of the Jude Plantation. These three African American farmers were able to purchase the property with the assistance of the New Orleans branch of the Federal Land Bank, a federal agency that loaned money specifically to farmers, by financing $1,400 of the total purchasing price. The men divided the debt, as well as the land, roughly in thirds. Each of the men and their wives took out second mortgages on their homes to pay the Federal Land Bank loan. David Crutcher died in 1924 and the farm went to Lucy and
their children. It took her until 1934 to pay off the mortgage. When Ms. Crutcher passed away in 1943, she left the farm to their children.
On their farm, the Crutchers produced cattle, hogs, chickens, and row crops of corn, cotton, and wheat, as well as a vegetable garden. “Today the farm is used to raise cattle, and the garden is used by Bob Hayden, a Crutcher family member,” according to Mr. Hayden. It is just as productive today as it was in 1910. The Crutchers ran such a successful farm that it served as an extension farm for Alabama Normal (Alabama
(Top Left) Crutcher House, 2000 (National Register of Historic Places Registration Form) (Bottom Left) Crutcher House, Barn, 2000 (National Register of Historic Places Registration Form) (Right) Crutcher House Plan, 2000 (National Register of Historic Places Registration Form)
353 - MADISON - (4881)