Magers Barn ca 1967, built ca 1930; photo by Curtis Duncan; known as the C C Duncan Farm from 1957-2004

(I'll be working on the following throughout the year. Underlined bulleted titles should route you to the page. All others, check back often!)

Our Objectives

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 20^th century through building styles, materials, and work function.

* Farm Architecture:

• Everett-Short Log House
• Shotgun House
  • The Shotgun House I Remember
  • Cowboy's House
• Double Shotgun House
  • The Last Farm House
• Four Square Pyramidal House
• Craftsman Style Tenant House
• Farm Manager's Home
• Widner Barn
• Magers Barn
• Farm Shop
• Company Store
• Corn Crib
• Out Buildings

* Farm Style:

• The Decor of a Farm Manager's Home

Folk Culture of the Mississippi Delta: The Widner-Magers Farm Historic District provides an opportunity to conserve the rich heritage of the Mississippi Delta in Northeast Arkansas. People of diverse backgrounds came together here in Mississippi County to drain the swamp and cultivate the soil. These people brought to our area a unique folk culture. Through research and a living history museum, we hope to preserve and share a part of the 1930s farm life.

*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. . ."

*Farm Equipment:

• Early Farm Equipment

*Farm Fashion:

• Then
• Now

*Vintage Recipes

• Elizabeth Ruddle's Fruitcake
• Old Recipe for Pecan Pie
• Buttermilk Pie
• Buttermilk Pecan Pie
• Buttermilk Corn Bread
• Plum Jam
• Plum Syrup
• Favorite Bread Pudding
• Hunter's Stew
• Canning Sauerkraut
• Bean or Blackeyed Peas with Sausage
• Aunt Emma's Salmon Cakes
• Making Pumpkin Butter, Day 1

Education and Agri-Tourism : This project provides us with the opportunity to showcase the various aspects of agricultural production. The goal is to provide resources to enable visitors to enjoy hands-on experiences and educational opportunities regarding Delta farm history. 

• WMFHD Newsletter, January 2009/Contents: 19th C History; WMFarm in Rural Arkansas Magazine; The Year Is 1938; Update 2008; 19th C Christmas; "On The Road"; Curtis C. Duncan Photography Featured; Donations; Wish List; Letter from Dru
• WMFHD Newsletter, July 2007/Contents: Magers-Duncan Complex...National Register of Historic Places; A House Becomes A Home; 2007 Brings Many Additions To The Farm; The Open Hearth Cook Visits WMFHD; Thank You To...; Barn Quilts And Delta Angels; 1920 Grocery Building...; Hooter and Lucille; Boo; What's Happening At The Farm
• WMFHD Newsletter, December 2007/Contents: The Old Red Barn To Host Santa And His Reindeer; Historic District To Celebrate Traditional Christmas; Bethlehem Relocated; Back At The Farm Joins Arkansas Delta Made; New Signs Designate Historic District; Barn Quilts Add A Touch of The 1930s; What's Happening At The Farm

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; Alton & Bernice Blaylock, Crossroads (S of Dell), AR

U. S. Cotton Facts. . .

A bale of cotton weighs about 500 lbs.

U. S. textile mills will spin almost 3 million bales of cotton this year. That's enough cotton to make more than 600 million pairs of men's jeans and more than 2 billion men's dress shirts.

One bale of cotton can make: 215 Pairs of Jeans; 249 Bed Sheets; 409 Men's Sport Shirts; 690 Terry Bath Towels; 765 Men's Dress Shirts; 1,217 Men's T-Shirts; 1,256 Pillowcases; 2,104 Pairs of Boxer Shorts; 2,419 Pairs of Men's Briefs; 3,085 Diapers; 4321 Mid-Calf Socks; 6,436 Pairs of Women's Knit Briefs; 21,960 Women's Handkerchiefs; 313,600 $100 Bills.

Sources of information; USDA ERS, FAO, EPA, USDA Census of Ag

We each have our place in time, and if we live right, we change that place and that time for the better.

HISTORY of the Widner-Magers Farm

Farm News 2010

Farm News 2011

Find The Current Farm News Below

Farm News 2012

News as it Happens 'Here at the Farm' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Construction is on-going at this website. . . as well as at the farm. Come see us often!

Check out the new blog!

The Country Farm Home

and FACEBOOK

There's a new blog that will tie together both of my websites, dellarkansas.com and widner-magers.org. I'll be using it to bring you updates and information about The Farm.

Click this link to view the entire blog:

thecountryfarmhome.blogspot.com

Hope you enjoy the newest addition to The Farm News..

Individual Blog Postings:

Jan 31- Rag Rugs: A Delta Folk Art

Jan 28-Let's All Go To The Ritz

Jan 23-Cowboy's House

Jan 20-Making Pumpkin Butter, Day 1

Jan 11-If Life Gives You Gumbo, Make Pottery

Jan 14-1825 1825 Log House On It's Way Up

Jan 7--Pickin', Singin', and Shootin'--Photographs, That Is

A Photo Shoot at The Farm today for Joe Chipman's new CD.

Dec 29-Crazy Crooked T-Shirt Quilt

Dec 30-Quilting the Crazy Crooked T-Shirt Quilt

Jan 15-Here's one of those things that's funny but holds much truth. A reprint from the Boston News Bureau:

What is Cotton?

COTTON is the overcoat of a seed that is planted and grown in the Southern states to keep the producer broke and buyer crazy. The fibre varies in color and weight and the men who can guess the nearest the length of a fibre is called a cotton man by the public, a fool by the farmer and a poor business man by his creditors.

The price of cotton is fixed in New York and goes up when you have sold and down when you have bought. A buyer working for a group of mills was sent to New York to watch the cotton market and after a few days' deliberation wired his firm to this effect--"Some think it will go up, some think it will go down, I do, too. Whatever you do will be wrong. Act at once."

Cotton is planted in the spring, mortaged in the summer and left in the field in winter.

There are other definitions, but none better than this.

 

Dec 11-The Dell site is back up and running! dellarkansas.com

Shotgun Tenant House ca 1950,built on the Magers Farm ca 1932; photo by Curtis Duncan

For questions,  or to send information, contact: backatthefarm1938@yahoo.com

Farm Tours are CLOSED until Spring 2012

Thanks to everyone who made our 2011 tours a success!

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FACEBOOK

 

We're studying quilts used by the farm workers in this area--often called "utility quilts." If you happen to own any of these quilts, please email us. This is a part of our local Delta culture that is being lost.

 

We need Volunteers for the "Log Cabin Raising"! Experience not necessary. John will teach you everything. If you're interested, please email us!

 

We were featured in the December Issue of Delta Crossroads!Click here for a preview

The Widner-Magers Farm Historic District was also featured in the July 2009 Rural Arkansas Magazine!

 

Widner-Magers Farm Historic District

 

A Member of

A Member of ALFHAM

We Grow

Wash Day: Irene Magers (left) & Friend

C A & Juanita Smith

"In the early 1990's, Dell town officials and the Dell Garden Club members began lighting Main Street at Christmastime with 1000's of tiny white Christmas lights. . ."

Santa's Workshop in the above photo is the C. A. Smith Grocery building in Dell, AR, during the Victorian Christmas in 1994. The grocery is now located at the Widner-Magers Historic District, north of Dell.

During the early years of the 1990s, the entire town of Dell came to life during the Christmas season with lights, carolers, and other entertainment. For more of the story and photos, CLICK HERE for dellarkansas.com

Links to:

dellarkansas.com The Dell History Web site

 Curtis C. Duncan Photography

 Our Cotton Patch, LLC, Dell, Arkansas

Much of what is profoundly American--what people love about America--has come from

The Delta

 MsCoAR USGen Web

Southern Tenant Farmers Museum, Tyronza, AR