BEDFORD, Ind. – An Indiana farm in the same family for 200 years is rich in history that includes ties to a former president and brand of whiskey still made today. 

The Craig/Day farm in Lawrence County, in the southern part of the state near Bedford, was given the Bicentennial Award last month under a program celebrating Indiana’s heritage in agriculture.

“I’m very humbled but yet proud,” said Greg Day, now the sole owner of the 182-acre spread.

According to research of the family’s history, John Craig Jr. and his wife, Sarah, came from Virginia and purchased the ground in 1823.

The Craig family was fairly close to Thomas Jefferson, who mentioned the family in some of his presidential writings before passing away in 1826. “I always thought that was pretty interesting,” Day said.

Craig lived in a long cabin on the property and later built a dam on Indian Creek, along with a sawmill and distillery.

Ironically, he was a cousin of Elijah Craig, whose name is reflected on a brand of bourbon he started making from a distillery in 1789. The award-winning Elijah Craig whiskey is still made in Bourbon, Ky., where it was founded.

Day said the original cabin was designed by Craig to fend off any Indian attacks with double shutters covering the windows and holes in the outside walls for placing rifle barrels into for shooting, if necessary.

He was not aware of any attacks but once, while the family was gone, Indians broke in and left with all their belongings, according to the family’s history.

Day is the son of Barbara Craig and the late Berry Day, who passed away in 2021.

He said his parents were not involved in agriculture but they lived close enough to the farm to frequently visit his grandparents, who raised cattle along with corn, soybeans and hay.

One of his fondest childhood memories was venturing out with his brothers in the morning, then being called back for lunch and dinner by his grandmother ringing a bell fastened to the top of a utility pole.

Day said she pulled on a cord to ring what resembled an old schoolhouse bell. “It just echoed for miles,” he said.

Day said his grandfather, fearing he and his brothers would get hurt, never let them help with any of the chores on the farm until they were older.

He remembered lending his grandfather a hand with harvesting the corn. Each load of kernels brought in from the fields was dumped on a conveyor which took them up into a corn crib for storage.

“We had a two-row corn picker. Boy, we thought it was big time getting to help unload the ears of corn out of the gravity flow wagon,” he said.

In 2001, Day said he and his wife built a house on the farm. Day said he also started doing more of the farming and became closer to his grandfather, Audra, until his passing 13-years later.  “He was a hard, tough man but, boy, he loved my little kids,” he said.

Day said he was an income challenged substitute teacher and working the farm when he became a correctional officer in the Lawrence County Jail to better provide for his growing family. He later spent 24 years as an Indiana State Police officer.

In January, became the Lawrence County sheriff after he was elected to the role the previous November.

After his grandfather’s death, Day said he and his brothers inherited the property but he later purchased their shares to become the sole owner of the farm. Initially, he and his son, Heath, did much of the farming but later he rented much of the ground still used for growing corn, soybeans and hay.

Day said he and another farmer combined have about 30 beef cows.

Heath is a diesel mechanic at a local John Deere dealership. Day said the plan is for him and his son to, eventually, work the entire farm again.

None of the original buildings are left but there are still things like the remnants of a foundation and one of the mill stones that can still be seen in the creek.

A farmhouse where his grandparents lived still stands and is now occupied by his mother. Day didn’t know when the house was constructed but estimated it was probably well over a century ago.

He said the farm remaining in the family is a testament to the commitment of his ancestors to agriculture and their ability to make it through tough times.

The 49-year-old Day said his long roots there didn’t mean much when he was younger but now he has a greater sense of pride and deeper appreciation especially now that he’s the sole owner.

“It’s very humbling, I think, to be the caretaker of that history and that tradition,” he said.