Historic Graham Farm expands its reach to Alabama communities
ESTILLFORK, Ala. (WHNT) – Take a ride through Estillfork in Jackson County and you are likely to drive into the historic Graham Farm and Nature Center and its 491 acres of agricultural production.
It’s the reason why having an agricultural education center in the area is so important.
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“It’s really important because most kids due to technology in a lot of cases don’t have the opportunity to go out and enjoy outdoors,” Themika Sims, director of Graham Farm and Nature Center, said. “We really want kids to be able to get out and enjoy and just understand what nature is all about.”
While agriculture is the driving force, the farm is also something that will unite the community. The property once belonged to the Graham family as far back as 1850.
Nita Graham Head and her husband Robert elected to donate the property in 2018 because they did not have any heirs and wanted to leave a legacy in the local community.
“We have camping, kayaking, we’re a demonstration farm and it’s an excellent opportunity,” said Donna Sands of Graham Farm. “We’ve added a couple of other things to help with educational outreach for introduction to the great outdoors.”
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Officials from Alabama A&M University and Auburn University celebrate the culmination of a vision to connect the farm and its pavilion with its school of architecture, forestry and landscape architecture.
“It’s a wonderful partnership that allows us to bring our land grant mission on both institutions to bear for the citizenry of Alabama and in this case, we’re doing it to expose the citizens of Alabama to nature,” Auburn University President Christopher Roberts said.
Graham Farm is among the more than 280 sites on the Alabama birding trails, with 8.5 miles of hiking and canoeing the Paint Rock River.
“It’s open to anyone and it’s just not something for the universities,” Sims explained. “The university just happens to own the property but everything that you could do in places like Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg you can do at the Graham Farm which is 45 minutes from Huntsville.”
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