Our Story

The Center Community began in the late 1800s when former slaves migrated from North and South Carolina to begin new opportunities for themselves and their families. The new residents were destined to become farmers (as was most of the country at that time). Much of the terrain in Center is hilly which does not lend to large-scale commercial agriculture and the soil is rocky which makes it difficult to work and less fertile. Through many struggles and obstacles, the community thrived and grew because of the nurturing and supportive atmosphere the families forged during those difficult years. 

​

As a product of the Center Community, families were inherently large and as such the way of life when you “farm the land.” The majority of families planted gardens and raised cattle, hogs, and chickens to maintain self-preservation but co-opting with neighbors and others meant no one went hungry. The only trip to town was mainly to buy sugar and flour. Hunting, fishing, and cutting wood were resources of the land that provided recreation, food, solace, and stress relief without cost. Co-opting with each other was the fabric that kept this community so tightly knitted. The culture with its generational traditions and customs supported families for decades and made for a thriving, bustling enterprise.  Peach and apple trees, blackberries, plums, mulberries, and persimmons were in abundance and instinctively caused the girls to climb a tree or get caught in a thicket of briars just like the boys.  Fresh spring water, lots of fresh food, and a high level of work/play activity are attributed to longer life with good health. The majority of the children attended Center School where the teachers virtually became extended family members by spending overnight at one home or another because of bad weather. This is how the parents knew about your misbehavior and/or “licks” before you got off the bus. 

​

Center community families understood what it took to instill moral values and wholesomeness into their children and did so by living simple, spiritually active, engaged lives. Most church events and pastors were supported locally and with great enthusiasm and energy.  Any community activity was always a highly participatory mainstay as everyone would come and bring something to share. From annual picnics, baseball, and basketball games, to horseshoes and tire races, the entire community was engaged on some level.

​

But during the mid-19th century with the advent of technological advancements that led to increased agricultural production throughout the nation which resulted in declining agricultural prices and hardships for small-scale farmers, many of the younger families departed the area to seek economic opportunity elsewhere in manufacturing in northern and midwestern cities (primarily in Kansas City, MO; but some moved to California, Ohio, Colorado, and a spattering of other states). 

 

Nevertheless, the sense of community remained strong among the descendants of the Center Community. Families often came “home” during the summers and holidays to maintain connections with relatives and keep the Center Community Spirit in the descendants that never lived full-time in Center.