Christmas Hemming was born into slavery in Duval County. On January 3, 1885, he paid $1,100 for 640 acres in Suwannee County. Hemming, along with his wife, Annie Jane, and son, Handy, started a farm where they raised livestock and grew several crops, including sugar cane. They built a two-room house crafted from pine trees harvested from their property. Hemming sold the rights to portions of the property for mining, turpentine harvesting, and a railroad right of way. In 1890, he sold one acre to the Suwannee County School Board for the construction of a school for African American children. Hemming was documented as being 110 years old on his death certificate when he passed away on December 17, 1920. The Southern Heritage Farm, as it came to be known, has remained in continuous operation by the Hemming family. They celebrate many long-held traditions, including basket weaving, quilting, canning, broom-making, and growing medicinal plants. In 2019, the farm was recognized as a “Century Pioneer Family Farm” by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Two years later, The Florida State Genealogical Society certified Hemmings’ family as a “Florida Pioneer Descendant.”
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.