Mission Of The Ames Plantation
Ames Plantation was established in 1901 by Hobart Ames, a
wealthy industrialist from North Easton, MA. He operated the
Plantation as a hunting preserve, livestock operation, and
cotton plantation until his death in April, 1945 when the
property passed to his widow, Mrs. Julia Colony Ames. (Click
here for information on Ames genealogy)
Mrs. Ames conceived the idea of memorializing her husband's name
prior to her death in January, 1950. In her Will, she satisfied
her wishes in this regard by expressing her desire for the Ames
Plantation to continue as a part of a perpetual entity she
created, the Hobart Ames Foundation. She directed that the
Plantation operate under the ownership of the Trustees of the
Foundation to benefit The University of Tennessee and to provide
grounds and administrative support for the National Championship
for field trialing bird dogs.
An organizational meeting was held on October 18, 1950, to
define more specifically the role Ames Plantation would perform
as a benefactor to the University. The first official work plan
between the Ames Trustees and The University of Tennessee
administrative officials was executed on March 18, 1954, and has
been renewed annually since. The Tennessee Agricultural
Experiment Station has been in the best position to utilize the
resources of the Plantation by directing research on a variety
of forestry, wildlife, livestock, crop, and related
environmental concerns.
Ames Plantation is organized into the following units: agronomy,
beef, central, forestry and wildlife, swine, water quality, and
cultural resources. A properly trained individual provides
technical leadership within each unit. Plantation property
consists of 18,653 acres located in both Hardeman and Fayette
Counties. This relatively large land area allows the conduct of
investigations which require substantial acreages to be
maintained under focused control of the directors of the
research effort. This is an uncommon feature, rarely found on
branch experiment station locations in the southeastern region
of the U.S.
Educational activities include a spring forestry camp for
forestry students, three visits annually by senior students in
the College of Veterinary Medicine, numerous graduate students,
one or two field days for the general public each year, and many
opportunities for visits to various components by elementary and
secondary students.