Traveling northward along State Highway 225 into the Stockton Community, one would likely develop the impression that time had stopped, or at least slowed considerably, and that the hustle and bustle of the 21^st century had not yet invaded the green lanes and quiet waters along the Tensaw.  And, to a certain degree, that assessment would be correct.  What most residents, and almost all visitors, fail to recognize is that the Stockton Community was the center of a thriving agricultural venture long before Baldwin was a part of Alabama.

A good example of the activity along the Tensaw can be found in the farming operation established by British Maj. Robert Farmar.  The Major came to Mobile in 1763 after serving in campaigns in Cartagena and Flanders, where he distinguished himself as a leader of men.

In Mobile, he commanded an occupying force that took over control of the port city from the French after the British victory in the Seven Years War (in North America the French and Indian War). Farmar’s duties included refitting Fort Charlotte (Fort Conde) and establishing the British military and political presence along the Gulf Coast. Beyond his prescribed duties, Farmar spent a great deal of time amassing large tracts of land, including a plantation along the Tensaw River in the area of the present-day Stockton Community.

It was on the Tensaw property that Farmar settled and lived out the last years of his life. He had married Yorkshire native Mary Anderson before coming to Mobile, and afterward, the two had five children that came to call Farm Hall, the name Farmar gave his Tensaw residence, their home. Farmar lived there with his family from 1771 until his death in 1778. The Farm Hall tract contained 34 acres, although the total arable land associated with the plantation far exceeded that number.

According to a lengthy inventory conducted in 1780, Farm Hall must surely have been a substantial structure capable of housing a large family and any guests that found their way to the Tensaw country. Historian Robert Rea offered a wonderful description of the home in “Major Robert Farmar of Mobile,” published in 1990. 

His narrative provided a glimpse of the stylish, yet functional, lifestyle that only one of Maj. Farmar’s status could afford. 

“The master’s bedroom contained a large mahogany bedsted with feather bed and bolster. Rose-colored blankets and blue and white cotton curtains set off the room. A mosquito curtain could be hung when required. In other bedrooms were to be found a large black walnut bedstead and two beechwood tent beds, one with checkered curtains of printed cotton.” 

Rea’s description continued as he painted a portrait of wealth and elegance intertwined with the raw wilderness of the American frontier.

The plantation was well appointed and would have been the envy of any would-be planter attempting to establish themselves. The value of any late 18^th century plantation could be determined by the number of acres and the availability of workers to clear and cultivate the fields. Farmar’s agricultural estate boasted such numbers and claimed a total of as many as 55 slaves, which made Farm Hall a large operation by the standards of the day. The worth of the slaves in 1780 totaled $14,121, a considerable sum. In addition, Farmar employed at least two paid supervisors that oversaw the production of crops like indigo and rice and the raising of cattle.

Farmar lived out the twilight of his life on his beloved Farm Hall as the fate of North America was in question. Farmar died in the fall of 1778 as the American Revolution raged along the Atlantic Coast with no end in sight for the conflict. He left behind a loving family, a wealth of property and a legacy of loyalty to the British Empire. He received Mobile from the French in the name of King George III and helped carve out a settlement along the southern frontier when it was still very much in the hands of men willing to fight for its ownership. He enriched the history of the Tensaw and provided modern historians with a multifaceted look at life along the Gulf Coast at the dawn of the United States.