Lora Blevins Farm
The Lora Blevins Farm is a cultural landscape in the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area. It is one of four historic farms that are preserved within the national park, along with the Oscar Blevins Farm, the John Litton Farm, and Charit Creek Lodge.
The farm is located just north of Bandy Creek Campground, and is accessible via West Bandy Road.
Description
The Lora Blevins Farmstead consists of 45 acres that includes fields and pastureland, a cabin, barn, corn crib and outhouse. The farm is the site of the Spring Planting Festival that is presented by the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area on the fourth Saturday each April. Also on the farm is the Katy Blevins Cemetery.
History
The Lora Blevins Farm dates back to 1927, when Lora Blevins purchased 45 acres from Oliver and Lucy Deck. They utilized all of the 45 acres, converting most of it to fields, which were plowed with a mule each spring. They used hand-hewn timbers from trees on the property to build their cabin, which was constructed in 1928, and the barn. They got their water from a spring a short distance north of the cabin. There was an orchard on the northwest corner of the farm, and another to the south.
At the time the farm was established, in the 1920s, West Bandy Road was the main road from Oneida to Jamestown.
Poppie Blevins Dishman told the National Park Service in an oral interview: “There was lots of love in this house.” She and the other Blevins children slept upstairs in the house, and she said snow would blow in and cover them as they slept on cold winter nights.
In addition to the surviving structures, a number of other structures were destroyed after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers purchased the property. Among them was a springhouse, a blacksmith shop, a smokehouse, a chicken coop and a hog pen, along with a tobacco barn, which doubled as a church (Lora Blevins was a minister).
The farm was active until 1980, when it was purchased by the federal government.
People of the Lora Blevins Farm
Lora Blevins lived on the farm from its beginning in 1928 until it was purchased by the federal government in 1980. Born on March 25, 1896, he was the son of Shadrack “Shade” Blevins and Polly Ann Crabtree. He was a great-grandson of Jonathan Blevins, the first white settler of the Station Camp area of the Big South Fork NRRA. Oscar Blevins, who owned the Oscar Blevins Farm nearby, was his cousin.
Blevins married Tealie Ann Slaven in July 1915. She was the daughter of Charley Slaven and Sally Ann Roysdon, and a great-granddaughter of Richard Harve Slaven, who was the Big South Fork region’s other original settler. They had nine children: Laura Bell (1916-1996), George William (1918-2001), Ethel Mae (1920-1977), Fred (1922-1927), Leonard Manuel (1924-1976), Poppie Lee (1927-2012), Lola Ellen (1929-1931), Idra Orange (1932-1977) and Janie Ruth (1939-1989).
Blevins was a Baptist preacher for 60 years, preaching at most of the small, rural churches throughout the region.
Tealie Blevins died in 1969 and was buried at Katy Blevins Cemetery. Lora remarried to Eva Coffey, the daughter of Coleman and Rosie Burke Coffey. They moved away from the farm, selling It to Lora’s sons, Leonard and George Blevins.
Eva died in 1978 and was buried at Katy Blevins Cemetery. Lora died on Aug. 7, 1983, at the age of 87. He was also buried at Katy Blevins Cemetery.