BROOKS, Iowa — The original farmland’s grassy surface is most likely similar to what David Fuller’s great-grandfather found when he moved to southern Adams County, Iowa, from Ohio in 1873.
The farm has been in the CRP program for many years, but David Fuller and his wife Barb still farm rental ground in the county.
It was certified a Heritage Farm in 2023 by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
While David Fuller was busy planting corn, Barb Fuller shared the family’s story. She says Chester Fuller was a Civil War veteran and fought in the war from beginning to end with a regiment out of Ohio.
“No one really knows how he came to this part of Iowa,” she says. “He did get married in Villisca on Jan. 1, 1873, and his wife was also from Ohio. ... Eventually he bought this farm from railroad speculators in August 1873.”
The original farm was 80 acres and grew over time as it was farmed by David’s grandparents, Curtis and Mary Fuller, and his father Loren.
“Curtis was more commonly known as Frank Fuller and was quite a character,” Barb Fuller says. “He was pretty famous around the Brooks area and left a lot of journals talking about life in general. He even performed as someone called B.Y. Gosh, sort of like a Mark Twain character.”
People are also reading…
David Fuller is the youngest of four children and was only 12 when his mother passed away. A week after he graduated from high school, he lost his father at the age of 17.
The farm was held in a trust for him until he turned 21, Barb Fuller says. When the estate was settled, David got the farm.
David and Barb married in 1982, and the couple moved to her house in nearby Corning. The old Fuller farmhouse is showing signs of age as it sits amidst a grove of trees on the original family farm.
The Fullers’ daughter Mary will eventually inherit the farm. Barb Fuller says she has an ag education degree and is very interested in the farm.
“Will she be involved in production agriculture?” Barb Fuller asks. “We really don’t know, but I do know she has a lot of interest in the history of the farm and wants to keep it in the family.”
Mary currently lives in St. Louis.
At the age of 74, David Fuller is still farming around 300 acres, including his late brother Marvin’s farm east of Corning.
Barb Fuller says keeping the farm in the family for 150 years is really a testament to the strength of her husband’s family.
“It survived the Great Depression, world wars and the Dust Bowl, and it’s still in the family today,” she says. “We are pretty proud of it.”