Partney Farm: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Ozark National Scenic Riverways

Regions 3, 4, & 5 Park Cultural Landscapes Program

Inventory Unit Description: The Partney Farm is located in Carter County, Missouri, approximately two miles south of the Big Springs area along County Road Z-206. The recommended boundary for this property includes approximately 194 acres which encompasses the family farm sold by W.D. Partney to the federal government in the 1960s. A large expanse of agricultural fields dominate the property and define its historic character. The fields occupy several acres and border the Current River, which lies to the northeast. The farm is reflective of settlement patterns and agricultural development in the region. Lands on the lower Current River were more fertile and tillable, and were the choicest lands for early settlers. The soils along the alluvial terraces supported larger commercial farms such as the Partney’s. The fields and pastures of the Partney Farm are located in one of the few flat and open areas along the river. The proximity of the river was also beneficial for commercial agricultural production and served as a means of shipping goods to market. The traditional agricultural landscape includes a constructed pond, a development of progressive agricultural techniques of the twentieth century, set within a thinly wooded area adjacent to the fields. Maps from the early twentieth century reveal field locations and patterns of the Partney Farm remarkably similar to its present landscape. Local farmers continue to lease and cultivate the fields of the Partney Farm, and the setting evokes a strong sense of time and place. The landscape of the Partney Farm remains much as it did during the early twentieth century. No modern developments or intrusions are visible. Despite some alterations, the Partney House retains much of its original design. Few farmhouses of this size remain intact in the Current River valley, and in combination with the associated outbuildings, adjacent fields, and family cemetery, it is an excellent example of an early twentieth century commercial farm.

Partney Farm: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Ozark National Scenic Riverways

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