Hyde Farm

Hyde Farm, on the Chattahoochee River northwest of Atlanta, has changed little since the early 1900s. As far back as the 1870s, following the Civil War, the Hyde family worked the land as sharecroppers. Jesse Hyde bought the farm in the 1920s, and his son, J.C. Hyde, farmed it until he was in his 90s, plowing by hand with the assistance of his stalwart mule, Nell, even as the land around the farm was consumed by urban sprawl. Jesse made J.C. promise never to sell the farm for development. In 1992, TPL helped J.C. keep that promise when we conserved 40 acres of the farm for the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. In the summer of 2010, TPL protected the final piece of the historic Hyde Farm by conveying it to the National Park Service.

Today, the farm is nearly unchanged from its original state—providing visitors the chance to journey back in time. There are nine outbuildings, including a barn, machine shop, chicken houses, and more, all connected to the main house. All in all, Hyde Farm continues to serve as a look back at Georgia’s olden days, and a case study for preserving other farms across the region.