The Cosmopolitan Club held its monthly meeting on April 1, 2022, at Spirit Hill Farm, the beautiful centennial farm and home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert (Sheryl) Bowen. Mrs. Bowen served delicious refreshments as members and guests arrived. Ms. Debbie Perkins opened the meeting with a timely devotional centered around the inspirational poem, The Bridge Builder. She pointed out the importance of caring for others when there is no obligation to do so.
The leader for the meeting, Melody Carter, asked members to introduce their guests. She then introduced Mrs. Bowen and shared accolades about her many accomplishments and involvements. Mrs. Bowen was very active in many civic and service organizations in Memphis and is currently chair of the Audubon Mississippi State Board. A few of her current memberships include the Marshall and Tate Genealogy Societies, Central Gardens Book Club of Memphis, and the University Museum of the University of Mississippi. She also serves as an Elder of First Presbyterian Church in Holly Springs.
Mrs. Bowen presented an extremely interesting program on the Legacy of Spirit Hill Farm. First, she explained that it is a Centennial Farm, which means it has been in the family for over 100 years. She traced the history of the land back to the Treaty of Pontotoc when William Hancock, a relative of Mr. Bowen’s, purchased the land in 1836. She explained that over the course of years the land had been divided among family members. The Bowens initially had 268 acres and now have acquired 1300 acres from various family members and neighbors to pull the farm back together. The land is located in Tate and Marshall Counties along Hickahala Creek.
The Bowens completed their home on the farm in 2003 and relocated from Memphis to Spirit Hill Farm. Their focus has become conservation of the land and the restoration of this historic site which consists of an 1836 Founders Log Cabin, 1932 Sharecropper House, 1842 Presbyterian Cemetery, and a Chickasaw Indian Ceremonial Mound. They are working to determine the location of a church and school that were once located on the property.
The Bowen’s goal is to protect and preserve the land and they do not want to see it divided among family members again. They learned that Strawberry Plains in Holly Springs had been donated for conservation and this inspired the Bowens to take similar action. In 2014 they established Spirit Hill Farm as a Legacy Forest within Mississippi State University’s Bulldog Forest and the Spirit Hill Farm Conservation Endowment Fund for Excellence. The property will be managed by the College of Forest Resources and used for wildlife research, the restoration of habitat for northern bobwhite quail and other education programs. They agreed to allow Mississippi State to begin using the land five years ago.
The farm will currently house up to 12 students and there are plans to repurpose the barn into a small dormitory in the next year for additional housing. During the past five years 8 masters and PhD projects, 8 undergrad projects, 12 peer review publications, 31 conference presentations and 6 podcasts have been completed on the farm by MSU students and professors. Students from the departments of agriculture, forestry, and archeology have been involved in this work.
Twelve students from the archeology department did a radar mapping of the cemetery and found 75 visible stones and located a number of unmarked graves. This will be the topic of more research.
Ms. Bowen also pointed out that other projects include planting wildflowers for pollinators, working on an oak propagation project, and investigating the Indian Mound located on the property.
Mrs. Bowen is very passionate about conservation and added she is a “believer that a farm is more than land and a house, it is a heritage. There is no greater purpose than to pass it on to the next generation who will learn to be caring stewards of the land and Mississippi.”
Following the presentation, club president, Marilyn Bateman, conducted a brief business meeting. Club members and guests were them invited to tour the family home, log cabin, and cemetery.
We were saddened to learn of the untimely death of Bob Bowen a few days after our meeting. Our deepest sympathy is extended to Sheryl and her family.
