A working farm rooted in community

Nourishing land and people. Growing food and connection.

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Land with a long history and a new purpose

Armistead Farm is a nonprofit organization in Franklin, Tennessee, founded on land that the Short family has farmed since 1887. A recognized Tennessee Century Farm, it carries more than a century of agricultural heritage and today, that legacy is being put to a new purpose.

Across 48 acres within the city limits of Franklin, the Farm sits at the heart of a growing community: a place where food is grown, people come together, and learning happens through direct connection to the land.

Sunset over a grassy field with trees and a small house in the background.
A woman and a young boy picking red and green bell peppers in a greenhouse with tomato plants. 
OUR MISSION

To honor and preserve the agricultural legacy of this land by nourishing the local community through access to farming, food, and educational experiences.

OUR VISION

To inspire and equip each generation to steward the land, promote healthy communities, and build connected food systems through farming practices and shared experiences.

A working farm carrying legacy forward

We’re building Armistead Farm as a multi-enterprise operation, starting with what matters most: growing food for the community.

  • A wooden crate filled with fresh vegetables and flowers, including cucumbers, watermelons, zucchini, an orange flower, and purple and green leafy vegetables, with grass around the crate.

    Market Garden

    Launching 2026–27

    Year-round production of vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and specialty crops using high tunnel growing and sustainable practices

  • A close-up of a brown hen standing on grass with another hen and a wooden fence in the background.

    Pasture-Raised Eggs

    Future Phase

    Pasture-raised egg production integrated into the farm’s rotational land management practices

  • Person holding a bunch of small, round apples with a mix of red and yellow coloring, outdoors with a green blurred background.

    Orchard

    Future Phase

    Fruit tree production building on the farm’s diverse agricultural enterprise model

  • A flock of sheep grazing on green grass in a pasture with a background of trees and a clear blue sky.

    Silvopasture & Sheep

    Future Phase

    An agroforestry system integrating sheep grazing with tree cultivation for a resilient, regenerative landscape

Close-up of fresh green vegetables, including zucchini, lettuce, and possibly broccoli, on a light-colored surface.

Community Impact & CSA

Fresh food, shared experiences, and lasting connection

At the heart of Armistead Farm is the simple idea that food connects people. Our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program will offer seasonal shares of vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and specialty crops, grown on this land, for neighboring communities.

Launching in summer 2027, the CSA puts fresh, locally grown food directly in the hands of our community. And beginning in 2028, educational programming will open the farm to people of all ages, creating opportunities to learn, cook, and share in the life of the land.

Two men taking a selfie outside in front of a barn

The Armistead Farm legacy continues with my son Will and me, representing the farm’s fifth and sixth generations, pictured in front of the hay barn.

From the Executive Director

I'm Jim Short, a native of Franklin. My great-great-grandfather purchased this land in 1887 and named it Westbrook. My father grew up here alongside his sister and two brothers, in the farmhouse my grandparents built in 1937, among corn and hay fields, dairy cows, and a kitchen garden that fed the family. This farm has shaped every generation of our family, and it helped shape me.

I spent most of my career in education, first as a high school biology teacher, and later leading efforts at the national level to improve how science is taught in classrooms across the country. That work taught me what happens when people learn by doing, when they get their hands in the material and experience something directly. It's the same thing that happens on a farm.

Armistead Farm is our family’s effort to honor the agricultural legacy of this land by opening it up to the community. We’re growing food, building connections, and creating a place for Franklin today and for future generations to experience.

Rooted in Legacy. Growing for Community.

For more than a century, the Short family has farmed this land in Franklin, Tennessee. Across four generations, including four Jesse Shorts, Westbrook Farm evolved alongside the community around it, adapting to changing seasons, crops, and ways of life but always remaining rooted in agriculture.

Today, that legacy continues through Armistead Farm: a nonprofit organization created to nourish the community through food, connection, and education.

  • Two vintage black-and-white portrait photographs, one oval-shaped of a man with a mustache in formal attire, the other rectangular of a woman with a high-collared dress, on dark background.

    1887

    Brothers Jesse Armistead Short and Benjamin Franklin Short purchase 195 acres in Franklin, Tennessee and establish Westbrook Farm. They grow wheat, barley, and corn while raising beef cattle. Benjamin Franklin Short builds the farm’s original farmhouse for his wife, Tennie Boyd Short, and their son, Jesse Edelin Short, Sr.

  • Weathered wooden box with faded black text reading "FAIRBANKS SHELF" in capital letters.

    1900

    A granary with a Fairbanks commercial scale is constructed on the farm to store and weigh grain before transport to Boyd’s Mill, owned and operated by the Short brothers.

  • A black and white photograph featuring a man with a mustache wearing a hat, jacket, and backpack, holding a book or notebook. In the background, there is a group of llamas or alpacas with a person standing behind them on a farm or rural setting.

    1925

    Jesse Edelin Short, Sr. continues managing Westbrook Farm while raising a flock of more than 650 sheep, including Karakul sheep known for their distinctive wool. Though the family moves into town, the farm remains central to daily life and agricultural production.

  • A vintage black-and-white photo of six people riding in a horse-drawn wagon, with four children and two adults, and a horse in the foreground.

    1937

    Jesse Edelin Short, Jr. returns to Westbrook Farm with his wife, Alma Carter Bennett Short, and builds the current farmhouse, where they raise four children. A large tobacco barn is added alongside a kitchen garden and orchard that support both the family and the farm’s operations.

  • Black-and-white photo of a person holding a cat near a house with a sloped roof and trees in the background.

    1953

    Westbrook Farm expands its dairy operation with the construction of a Grade A dairy barn. The farm grows corn, barley, and alfalfa hay to support a herd of Holstein milk cows.

  • A man and a young boy interacting with a calf in a farm setting, with several cows grazing in the background.

    1960

    A 60-foot silo is constructed to store silage for the dairy herd through the winter months. In 1963, after graduating from college, Jesse Edelin Short III joins his father in continuing the family’s farming operation.

  • Aerial view of a historic farm with a barn, silo, and farm buildings, surrounded by greenery, with a sign in the foreground that reads 'This is a Century Farm, 100 Years of Continuous Agricultural Production, State of Tennessee Department of Agriculture.'

    2014

    The State of Tennessee officially recognizes Westbrook Farm as a Tennessee Century Farm, honoring more than 100 years of continuous family farming.

  • A billboard located outdoors on a rural farm, displaying a photo of two smiling men in front of a green pasture and barn.

    2026

    The Short family establishes Armistead Farm, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to growing food and creating educational experiences for the local community.

    The farm’s first phase includes a three-acre market garden and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, with future plans for orchards, teaching gardens, cooking classes, pasture-raised chickens, and silvopasture with sheep.

The values that guide everything we do.

We Value Being Authentic
This looks like growing high-quality food grounded in agricultural heritage, honoring the history of the land, and building trust through relationships.

We Value Connection
This looks like connecting people to the land and to each other, strengthening relationships between farmers and communities, and collaborating with partners, neighbors, and organizations to expand our collective impact.

We Value Farming
This looks like embracing agricultural practices that produce quality food, extend the growing season, enrich the soil, and support the development of the next generation of farmers.

We Value Learning
This looks like engaging people of all ages in opportunities to make meaning from educational experiences growing, cooking and sharing food.

We Value Resilience
This looks like diversifying our programs, practices, and products; adapting to changing needs; and ensuring we remain responsive, inclusive, and community-focused across generations.

We Value Stewardship
This looks like preserving and protecting the land, practicing responsible agriculture, and caring for the well-being of our community and environment.

Person harvesting fresh beets in a green farm field, holding leafy beet roots while standing among crops. 
NOW HIRING

Help us build something meaningful.

Armistead Farm is hiring a Farm Manager to lead day-to-day operations as our primary on-site leader, working closely with the Executive Director to launch the market garden and lay the foundation for everything that follows.

This is a rare opportunity to step in at the beginning: shaping a working farm from the ground up, on historic land, in a community that’s hungry to connect more deeply with where their food comes from.

Learn More & Apply
Light-colored illustration of a turnip with leaves.

A farm built to last.

Franklin is a vibrant, growing community with a deep appreciation for local food and the land. Armistead Farm sits at the intersection of that community and a multigenerational family legacy — a rare place to build something lasting.

We’re just getting started.