.The Ready-Gates Farm is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places under criteria A and C for its local significance in agriculture, settlement patterns, and architecture. The 162-acre farm located at 1662 Northcutt Road in rural Cannon County, Tennessee evolved over a period of 145 years into its present configuration. The farmstead contains an outstanding collection of historic outbuildings, former dwellings and a farmhouse that contribute to the agricultural and architectural significance of the property. These resources represent the growth and development of the farm from the 1860s to 1950s. The farm retains a high degree of integrity with thirteen contributing resources and one noncontributing resource. The Ready-Gates Farm is being nominated under the Historic Family Farms in Middle Tennessee Multiple Property Nomination as an intact and excellent example of a family farm that has operated continuously for over one hundred years and represents the strong agricultural history of the state.The Ready-Gates Farm is significant in terms of agriculture as a superb example of a Tennessee family farm with its farmhouse, outbuildings, tenant house, barns, fencing, and agricultural function remaining intact. The Ready-Gates farmhouse is significant in terms of architecture as an excellent and intact example of a rural vernacular farmhouse that has evolved over the past 135 years. The house, built in stages from 1870 to 1923, reflects the expansion of the family, and the extensive use of wood in the interior is a fine example of vernacular craftsmanship. The frame and log outbuildings and structures are good examples of agricultural resources. The variety and integrity of the agricultural-related outbuildings, tenant house, and log house also contribute to the farm's significance in architecture.The history and genealogy of the Ready family is central to the settlement of Cannon County. Charles Ready came to the current Readyville area in 1802, which was, at the time, one of several land grants North Carolina made to General Griffith B. Rutherford. When the Old Stage Road was built in 1811, Charles Ready established a post office at his home and served as the local postmaster. The town was named Readyville after him. On May 21, 1813, the state granted Peter Moore a land grant in the Readyville area. Governor Blount signed the grant, and at the time, the land was part of Wilson County. The General Assembly of Tennessee established Cannon County on January 21, 1836. Abner Alexander was the first family member to own the land. He acquired the land and title around 1844 and built a log cabin at the back of the hollow. Abner married Nancy Sauls, and together they had three children: John Mac, Martha Frances, and Mary Annis. He married again to Permelia Jane Cooper, and this marriage produced one child, Nannie. The agricultural production on the farm at this time was corn, wheat, hogs, horses, and cattle. These products are all consistent with subsistence farming during the antebellum era in Middle Tennessee. During the Civil War, both Union and Confederate soldiers passed through the hollow and used the spring for water. Abner's son, John Mac, had to hide from occupation forces. Abner is buried across from the farm outside the nominated property boundaries in a family plot.Abner's daughter Mary Annis, became owner of the house in 1870. She married Christopher Columbus Ready, and they produced eight children: Nancy, Beulah, Florence, Callie Holmes, In/in Ernest, and three children who died in infancy. The Ready family built the 1870 portion of the main house, barn, tenant house, blacksmith shop, buggy shed, and smoke house. Mary Dee Ready Gates' grandfather, Christopher Columbus Ready, worked as a blacksmith and used the blacksmith shop to perform most of his duties. The farm produced wheat, corn, hogs, horses, and cattle.Mary Annis1 son, Irvin Ernest Ready, acquired the land in 1898. He bought back 43.5 acres of the original land from the daughter of his half-aunt, Nannie Alexander Northcutt, who inherited it upon the death of her last parent. Irvin married Nancy Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bragg and together they had one child, Mary Dee, the current owner of the farm. During the early 1900s, the family produced horses, mules, beef cattle, sheep, hogs, corn, hay, wheat, rye, barley, and oats. Beef and dairy cattle became major contributors to the economy between 1900 and 1920, marking a period of diversification for Middle Tennessee farms.1 Billie and Sallie Bond were tenant farmers who lived in the tenant house during the early 1900s. The Bonds constructed the addition to the farmhouse and lived in the tenant house while they did their work. Lizzie Ready did the cooking and washing while they were there. When the Bonds left, she had the structure moved because she did not want tenant families located that close to her family's home. Tenant farming was a staple of the agricultural economy in Tennessee from 1880 until the 1940s. Irvin and Lizzie added the 1918 and 1923 additions to the farmhouse and built the hen house, brooder house, and outhouse. Lizzie raised chickens to create extra income. This was a typical pattern of farming, the domestic sphere, where females had their own jobs. She used the money she made from the sale of her chickens to start savings accounts for her grandsons, Steve and Ben, giving them $200 each. She died in 1954. Irvin continued to farm the land with the assistance of his son-in-law Joe Gates. He installed electricity in the farm buildings in 1955; and in 1958, the largest barn on the property was built to address changing agricultural practices. This was the last major investment of the Ready family into the agricultural production of the property.Mary Dee Ready Gates married Joe Gates in 1935. Joe's family farmed and owned property nearby in Rutherford County. The Gates Farm also has been recognized as a Tennessee Century Farm. Mary Dee and Joe Gates had two sons, Steve and Ben. Mary Dee inherited the Ready-Gates Farm upon the death of her mother in 1954 and has continued the long tradition of farming on the property with the help of her sons and grandson. By the time of In/in Ready's death in 1971, he had ceased all farming activities except for owning a few head of beef cattle and a saddle horse. Mary Dee and Joe then began a larger beef cattle operation which currently continues.Joe Gates and his sons ran the farm until his death in 1987. Ben Cates's son, Benjamin David Gates, his wife Ashley Lamons Gates, and their son Benjamin D. Gates, III currently occupy the house. They installed plumbing in the main house in 1995. The present agricultural output on the farm is confined to beef cattle, which are owned by Mary Dee Ready Cates.
.The 162-acre Ready-Gates Century Farm is located at 1662 Northcutt Road (Route 1) in the vicinity of Auburntown in rural Cannon County, Tennessee. The farmhouse and outbuildings are situated in a hollow that is slightly elevated from the road but surrounded by a higher ridge around the southeastern perimeter of the property. The original land grant, received by Peter Moore in 1813, contained 116 acres. A log cabin at the north end of the property dates to c. 1860 and served as the first dwelling. The current dwelling of this farm is a two-story farmhouse evolving over a period of 125 years. The farm contains buildings, fields, and structures, all of which signify a productive agricultural farm. There have been modern changes to the farmhouse on the nominated property, and some of the old houses and outbuildings are in poor condition, but overall, the farm retains its historic integrity.The farm is located at the end of Northcutt Road, which is a gravel road. The unpaved entrance to the farm requires visitors to cross over a creek before entering the farm complex. An access road originally led to a hollow that runs alongside McKnight's Creek, which is fed by seven natural springs on the property. The road is no longer used, and the old roadbed serves as a trail to the blacksmith shop, tenant house, 1900 barn, and c. 1860 log cabin. The farm is enclosed with a variety of fencing. Much of the property is wooded, and the terrain is steep and rocky. The area is rural and contains other historic farms.(1) FARMHOUSE (1870), Contributing Building The principal dwelling on the Ready-Gates Farm is a two-story farmhouse. Historically, the house was a one-story, single pen built in 1870. In 1918, the family added a kitchen to the back or southeast of the house. In 1923, In/in and Lizzie Ready made extensive changes to the farmhouse, adding a two-story section to the front, or northwest elevation, which created a new front facade. The 1923 section reflects the style of the older parts, with its simple design, side- gable roof, and wood-frame construction. In 1995, the family enclosed the northeast porch of the 1870 and 1918 sections of the house to create a bathroom and laundry area and add indoor plumbing. An internal ridge chimney, built in 1923, is visible from all sides of the house. An 1890 front room and a chimney were removed in 1923 when the new front portion was built. The exterior of the house is weatherboard with the exception of the 1995 addition, which is covered in vinyl siding. All of the roofs are metal, and the foundation is cut stone, with the exception of the 1923 front porch, which has a concrete-block foundation.The northwest facade of the house features a front porch with four square, wooden piers that support a hipped metal roof. The three-bay facade consists of a central doorway flanked by a 1/1 double-hung window on each side. The wood door is original to the 1923 section of the house, but the windows were replaced in 1995.
The southwest elevation of the house shows one gable end of the roof on the 1923 portion. Below the roof, the 1923 portion of this elevation has a 1/1 double-hung window on each floor, centered one over the other. The rear part of the 1923 section faces southeast and connects with the 1870 section. A large shed dormer is visible on the second floor and serves to connect the new roofline to the old one. The room that this dormer creates is both a connector and a stairwell to the second floor of the 1923 upstairs. A small 1/1 double-hung window is on each side of the dormer. The dormer is flanked by a 1/1 double-hung window to each side. Toward the rear of the southwest elevation is a simple side porch that was added in 1923. This porch features two glass and wood panel doors that are off center. The first door leads to a hallway that connects the 1923 section to the 1870 section. The second door leads to the kitchen and has a 1/1 double-hung window on each side. The metal gable roof is interrupted by a shed roof that extends over the porch. The porch features five rough hewn piers and a simple balustrade, as well as simple balusters that support handrails for the steps leading up to the porch. The family added the balustrade and piers in 1995.The southeast elevation of the house reveals the back of the 1918 addition. A small, 1/1 double- hung window appears on the southeast gable end of the house; the family shortened this window when they remodeled the kitchen in 1995. In 1995 the family enclosed the northeast porch of the 1870 and 1918 sections of the house with vinyl siding, and this addition is visible on this elevation. The added section of the house features a wooden screen door flanked by a screened window on each side and a metal shed roof.The northeast elevation of the house shows two small, 6/6 double-hung windows on the rear section. The two-story 1923 section of the house has a 1/1 double-hung window on each floor of the gable end.The front door of the farmhouse leads to a small foyer that has an unusual trapezoidal shape. The foyer has tongue-and-groove wood flooring, horizontal wood paneling, and two doorways, one to the south and one to the east. The eastern doorway leads to a bedroom with carpeted floors, horizontal board wood walls partially covered by wallpaper, a beaded board ceiling, and heavy molding around the doors, which are original to the house. The room contains a heavy, dark wood fireplace that is nonfunctional. It is composed of a mantle with plain pilasters and a molded mantel shelf on the southwest wall. The bedroom has one window on the northwest wall, one window on the northeast wall, and a door on the southwest wall that leads to a hallway. Through the southern doorway of the foyer is the parlor, which has hardwood floors, a wood board ceiling, and heavy molding around the doorways. The walls in the parlor are sheetrock, installed in 1995, with the exception of the southeast wall, which has the original horizontal wood boards. The nonfunctioning fireplace in the parlor is situated on the northeast wall. The mantle is similar to the one in the bedroom with its plain pilasters and molded mantle shelf.
A doorway at the southeast end of the parlor leads to a hallway with a staircase that leads to the second story of the house. The hallway and the stairwell have horizontal beaded board walls and tongue-and-groove flooring. The staircase is wooden and has a square-post balustrade and a simple newel post. A door at the southwest end of the hallway leads to the side porch. A doorway on the southeast side of the hall leads to the dining room, which is part of the original 1870 house. The dining room has tongue-and-groove flooring, painted horizontal wood board walls, a beaded board ceiling, and heavy molding around the doorways. The nonfunctioning fireplace at the southeast end of the room has a dark wood mantle with plain pilasters and a small rectangular floor area in front of it made of concrete. Northeast of the mantle is a doorway original to the 1870 house that leads to the kitchen. The kitchen has tongue-and-groove flooring and beaded board walls and ceiling. The family added new cabinetry and countertops in 1995. The door on the southwest of the room leads to the side porch. The kitchen has a window on the southeast wall, above the sink and a second window on the southwest wall.A doorway at the northeast end of the kitchen leads to a laundry room, part of the porch that the family enclosed in 1995. The laundry room has linoleum flooring, sheetrock walls, and a sheetrock ceiling sprayed with a textured material. There is a closet and a small window on the northeast wall of the room and a sink on the southwest end. A doorway on the northeast wall of the dining room connects to a hallway that leads to a master bathroom. The bathroom is also part of the 1995 remodeling. It has tile flooring, sheetrock walls covered with wallpaper, and a textured ceiling. The room has a stand-up shower, a garden tub, and a small separate room at the southeast end with toilet.The upstairs of the farmhouse, constructed as part of the 1923 addition, has a hallway and two bedrooms. The staircase ends at a small landing located inside the dormer. This area has tongue-and-groove flooring, beaded board walls, a wood board ceiling, and two windows. A doorway at the top of the stairs leads to a small hallway that connects to the upstairs bedrooms. The bedroom on the southwest side has tongue-and-groove flooring, wood board walls, and a beaded board ceiling. A window is located on the southwest wall of this room, and the northwest wall has a slight angle due to the roofline of the home. The other bedroom is on the northeast side of the house and has tongue-and-groove flooring, wood board walls, and a beaded board ceiling. This room also has an angled northwest wall as well as a window on the northeast wall.(2) BUGGY SHED (1870), Contributing Building The buggy shed is a few feet southwest of the farmhouse. Built in 1870, the buggy shed was once used to house non-motorized vehicles. It is a plain weatherboard building with a metal, front- gabled roof. The front of the buggy shed faces north, and the only opening is a vertical board door on the front. Today the building serves as a garage for cars.
3) SMOKEHOUSE (1870), Contributing Building The smokehouse is a small wooden building where the family cured or smoked food. The exterior of the smokehouse is plain board and batten with a metal, front-gabled roof. The front of the building faces southwest and three stone steps lead to a vertical board door. The roof extends over a porch on the southeastern facade and is supported by three narrow wooden piers. The family currently uses the space for storage.(4) BROODER HOUSE (1925), Contributing structure The brooder house lies southeast of the smokehouse. It is a plain vertical board structure with a metal shed roof. The front of the brooder house faces southeast, and a chicken wire fence on a wood frame surrounds a small rectangular pen on this side. The front features four vertical board doors and two 4/4 double-hung windows placed irregularly among the doors. Each end of the structure has a four-pane fixed window, and the rear or northwest side has no openings. This was a productive workspace for most of the twentieth century. Today it is used for storage.(5) HEN HOUSE (1920), Contributing structure The hen house lies a few feet east of the brooder house. It is a plain vertical board structure with a metal, front-gabled roof. The building faces southwest and the front has vertical board double doors. The foundation of the hen house is stone. Built in 1920, the family raised hens in the building for almost fifty years. Today it is used for storage.(6) OUTHOUSE (1925), Contributing Building The outhouse sits behind the hen house. It is a small weatherboard building with a metal shed roof. The outhouse faces northwest and has a vertical board door. The interior features three seats.(7) BIG BARN (1958), Non-Contributing Building due to date The largest building on the complex is the multi-story barn located north of the farmhouse. This barn housed livestock and animal feed. The three-bay barn is covered with board and batten siding and has a metal gambrel roof and earthen floors. The southwest fagade of the big barn features a central opening covered by double weatherboard doors with small, fixed four pane windows at eye level that open out on hinges. Two more sets of plain vertical board double doors flank the central set. Small single doors sit above each set of double doors and lead to a short middle level of the barn. At the top level of the barn is a central set of doors that swing out to allow or hay loading. The barn features a hay hood with pulley system for loading hay into the top levels of the barn for storage. The pole and pulley are extant.(8) CORNCRIB (1870), Contributing structure The corncrib is a small half-dovetail log structure with gable metal roof. The entrance to the corncrib is located on the gable end, and it is located behind the big barn.(9) BLACKSMITH SHOP (1870), Contributing Building North of the big barn and corncrib is the blacksmith shop. Steve Gates' grandfather, Christopher Columbus Ready, worked as a blacksmith and used the building to perform most of his duties. The building is a small vertical board structure with a metal, front-gabled roof. The front of the blacksmith shop faces west and has a single, off-center door that opens on metal hinges. The structure currently houses a wagon and tools.(10) TENANT HOUSE (1895), Contributing Building North of the blacksmith shop is the tenant house, built in 1895. The board and batten house faces west and has a metal, side-gabled roof and stone chimney. The roof extends over an open area in the front and is missing the piers that once held it up. A central doorway is the only opening on the front of the house, and the door is now missing. The north side of the structure has a stone chimney and a shed roof that is supported by narrow wooden piers and extends over a side door. The rear or east side of the house has no openings. The south side of the tenant house has a window opening on the first story and a small window opening on the second story. All of the windows are missing from the tenant house, and it is in poor condition since no one has lived there in many years. This house was once located northeast of the farmhouse. The family moved the structure to its present location beside the creek between 1924 and 1925. Lizzie Ready, the wife of Irvin E. Ready, had the structure moved because she did not want tenant families located that close to her family's home.(11) LOG HOUSE (c.1860), Contributing BuildingThe oldest building on the Gates Farm is the original log house, built around 1860. The house lies alongside the creek, northeast of the tenant house. The cabin is two stories and it is of half dovetail construction from timber that the farm's founders collected from the surrounding land; a board and batten addition is visible in the back. The side-gabled roof is made of tin, and the chimney is stone. The front of the house faces northwest, and a slightly off-center door opening serves as the main entrance. On the southwest elevation, a window opening is present on the first story and a smaller window is present on the second story. The addition is visible from this angle, and has a small 2/2 window. The rear of the house shows no openings. The stone chimney is on the northeast elevation of the log house along with an upstairs window opening. The addition is visible from this elevation and features a small 3/3 double-hung window.(12) OLD BARN (c.1900), Contributing Building This small barn is a vertical board three bay barn with a metal, front-gabled roof and earthen floors. The central opening has no doors and runs through the center of the barn from end to end.(13) ROADBED (c. 1844) Contributing Structure The historic roadbed is a continuation of Northcutt Road that runs along the creek north to the tenant house and the log house. This nineteenth-century road is twelve feet wide and is defined by eroded banks ranging from one-to-three feet high. The roadbed is un-surfaced and is currently used for farm purposes only. It is gated off from Northcutt Road.(14) FENCING (various periods) Contributing Structure There is a variety of fencing on the property that delineates the boundaries of the farm and contains the cattle. The system of fences dates to various periods from both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is a combination of wood and metal posts, chicken wire, barbed wire, wood fencing, and a stone wall. The stone wall runs from the gravel driveway south alongside the Northcutt Road following the creek to the edge of the Ready-Gates property. It dates from the middle of the nineteenth century and is made from stacked stone laid three-to-four feet high.
The southwest elevation of the house shows one gable end of the roof on the 1923 portion. Below the roof, the 1923 portion of this elevation has a 1/1 double-hung window on each floor, centered one over the other. The rear part of the 1923 section faces southeast and connects with the 1870 section. A large shed dormer is visible on the second floor and serves to connect the new roofline to the old one. The room that this dormer creates is both a connector and a stairwell to the second floor of the 1923 upstairs. A small 1/1 double-hung window is on each side of the dormer. The dormer is flanked by a 1/1 double-hung window to each side. Toward the rear of the southwest elevation is a simple side porch that was added in 1923. This porch features two glass and wood panel doors that are off center. The first door leads to a hallway that connects the 1923 section to the 1870 section. The second door leads to the kitchen and has a 1/1 double-hung window on each side. The metal gable roof is interrupted by a shed roof that extends over the porch. The porch features five rough hewn piers and a simple balustrade, as well as simple balusters that support handrails for the steps leading up to the porch. The family added the balustrade and piers in 1995.The southeast elevation of the house reveals the back of the 1918 addition. A small, 1/1 double- hung window appears on the southeast gable end of the house; the family shortened this window when they remodeled the kitchen in 1995. In 1995 the family enclosed the northeast porch of the 1870 and 1918 sections of the house with vinyl siding, and this addition is visible on this elevation. The added section of the house features a wooden screen door flanked by a screened window on each side and a metal shed roof.The northeast elevation of the house shows two small, 6/6 double-hung windows on the rear section. The two-story 1923 section of the house has a 1/1 double-hung window on each floor of the gable end.The front door of the farmhouse leads to a small foyer that has an unusual trapezoidal shape. The foyer has tongue-and-groove wood flooring, horizontal wood paneling, and two doorways, one to the south and one to the east. The eastern doorway leads to a bedroom with carpeted floors, horizontal board wood walls partially covered by wallpaper, a beaded board ceiling, and heavy molding around the doors, which are original to the house. The room contains a heavy, dark wood fireplace that is nonfunctional. It is composed of a mantle with plain pilasters and a molded mantel shelf on the southwest wall. The bedroom has one window on the northwest wall, one window on the northeast wall, and a door on the southwest wall that leads to a hallway. Through the southern doorway of the foyer is the parlor, which has hardwood floors, a wood board ceiling, and heavy molding around the doorways. The walls in the parlor are sheetrock, installed in 1995, with the exception of the southeast wall, which has the original horizontal wood boards. The nonfunctioning fireplace in the parlor is situated on the northeast wall. The mantle is similar to the one in the bedroom with its plain pilasters and molded mantle shelf.
A doorway at the southeast end of the parlor leads to a hallway with a staircase that leads to the second story of the house. The hallway and the stairwell have horizontal beaded board walls and tongue-and-groove flooring. The staircase is wooden and has a square-post balustrade and a simple newel post. A door at the southwest end of the hallway leads to the side porch. A doorway on the southeast side of the hall leads to the dining room, which is part of the original 1870 house. The dining room has tongue-and-groove flooring, painted horizontal wood board walls, a beaded board ceiling, and heavy molding around the doorways. The nonfunctioning fireplace at the southeast end of the room has a dark wood mantle with plain pilasters and a small rectangular floor area in front of it made of concrete. Northeast of the mantle is a doorway original to the 1870 house that leads to the kitchen. The kitchen has tongue-and-groove flooring and beaded board walls and ceiling. The family added new cabinetry and countertops in 1995. The door on the southwest of the room leads to the side porch. The kitchen has a window on the southeast wall, above the sink and a second window on the southwest wall.A doorway at the northeast end of the kitchen leads to a laundry room, part of the porch that the family enclosed in 1995. The laundry room has linoleum flooring, sheetrock walls, and a sheetrock ceiling sprayed with a textured material. There is a closet and a small window on the northeast wall of the room and a sink on the southwest end. A doorway on the northeast wall of the dining room connects to a hallway that leads to a master bathroom. The bathroom is also part of the 1995 remodeling. It has tile flooring, sheetrock walls covered with wallpaper, and a textured ceiling. The room has a stand-up shower, a garden tub, and a small separate room at the southeast end with toilet.The upstairs of the farmhouse, constructed as part of the 1923 addition, has a hallway and two bedrooms. The staircase ends at a small landing located inside the dormer. This area has tongue-and-groove flooring, beaded board walls, a wood board ceiling, and two windows. A doorway at the top of the stairs leads to a small hallway that connects to the upstairs bedrooms. The bedroom on the southwest side has tongue-and-groove flooring, wood board walls, and a beaded board ceiling. A window is located on the southwest wall of this room, and the northwest wall has a slight angle due to the roofline of the home. The other bedroom is on the northeast side of the house and has tongue-and-groove flooring, wood board walls, and a beaded board ceiling. This room also has an angled northwest wall as well as a window on the northeast wall.(2) BUGGY SHED (1870), Contributing Building The buggy shed is a few feet southwest of the farmhouse. Built in 1870, the buggy shed was once used to house non-motorized vehicles. It is a plain weatherboard building with a metal, front- gabled roof. The front of the buggy shed faces north, and the only opening is a vertical board door on the front. Today the building serves as a garage for cars.
3) SMOKEHOUSE (1870), Contributing Building The smokehouse is a small wooden building where the family cured or smoked food. The exterior of the smokehouse is plain board and batten with a metal, front-gabled roof. The front of the building faces southwest and three stone steps lead to a vertical board door. The roof extends over a porch on the southeastern facade and is supported by three narrow wooden piers. The family currently uses the space for storage.(4) BROODER HOUSE (1925), Contributing structure The brooder house lies southeast of the smokehouse. It is a plain vertical board structure with a metal shed roof. The front of the brooder house faces southeast, and a chicken wire fence on a wood frame surrounds a small rectangular pen on this side. The front features four vertical board doors and two 4/4 double-hung windows placed irregularly among the doors. Each end of the structure has a four-pane fixed window, and the rear or northwest side has no openings. This was a productive workspace for most of the twentieth century. Today it is used for storage.(5) HEN HOUSE (1920), Contributing structure The hen house lies a few feet east of the brooder house. It is a plain vertical board structure with a metal, front-gabled roof. The building faces southwest and the front has vertical board double doors. The foundation of the hen house is stone. Built in 1920, the family raised hens in the building for almost fifty years. Today it is used for storage.(6) OUTHOUSE (1925), Contributing Building The outhouse sits behind the hen house. It is a small weatherboard building with a metal shed roof. The outhouse faces northwest and has a vertical board door. The interior features three seats.(7) BIG BARN (1958), Non-Contributing Building due to date The largest building on the complex is the multi-story barn located north of the farmhouse. This barn housed livestock and animal feed. The three-bay barn is covered with board and batten siding and has a metal gambrel roof and earthen floors. The southwest fagade of the big barn features a central opening covered by double weatherboard doors with small, fixed four pane windows at eye level that open out on hinges. Two more sets of plain vertical board double doors flank the central set. Small single doors sit above each set of double doors and lead to a short middle level of the barn. At the top level of the barn is a central set of doors that swing out to allow or hay loading. The barn features a hay hood with pulley system for loading hay into the top levels of the barn for storage. The pole and pulley are extant.(8) CORNCRIB (1870), Contributing structure The corncrib is a small half-dovetail log structure with gable metal roof. The entrance to the corncrib is located on the gable end, and it is located behind the big barn.(9) BLACKSMITH SHOP (1870), Contributing Building North of the big barn and corncrib is the blacksmith shop. Steve Gates' grandfather, Christopher Columbus Ready, worked as a blacksmith and used the building to perform most of his duties. The building is a small vertical board structure with a metal, front-gabled roof. The front of the blacksmith shop faces west and has a single, off-center door that opens on metal hinges. The structure currently houses a wagon and tools.(10) TENANT HOUSE (1895), Contributing Building North of the blacksmith shop is the tenant house, built in 1895. The board and batten house faces west and has a metal, side-gabled roof and stone chimney. The roof extends over an open area in the front and is missing the piers that once held it up. A central doorway is the only opening on the front of the house, and the door is now missing. The north side of the structure has a stone chimney and a shed roof that is supported by narrow wooden piers and extends over a side door. The rear or east side of the house has no openings. The south side of the tenant house has a window opening on the first story and a small window opening on the second story. All of the windows are missing from the tenant house, and it is in poor condition since no one has lived there in many years. This house was once located northeast of the farmhouse. The family moved the structure to its present location beside the creek between 1924 and 1925. Lizzie Ready, the wife of Irvin E. Ready, had the structure moved because she did not want tenant families located that close to her family's home.(11) LOG HOUSE (c.1860), Contributing BuildingThe oldest building on the Gates Farm is the original log house, built around 1860. The house lies alongside the creek, northeast of the tenant house. The cabin is two stories and it is of half dovetail construction from timber that the farm's founders collected from the surrounding land; a board and batten addition is visible in the back. The side-gabled roof is made of tin, and the chimney is stone. The front of the house faces northwest, and a slightly off-center door opening serves as the main entrance. On the southwest elevation, a window opening is present on the first story and a smaller window is present on the second story. The addition is visible from this angle, and has a small 2/2 window. The rear of the house shows no openings. The stone chimney is on the northeast elevation of the log house along with an upstairs window opening. The addition is visible from this elevation and features a small 3/3 double-hung window.(12) OLD BARN (c.1900), Contributing Building This small barn is a vertical board three bay barn with a metal, front-gabled roof and earthen floors. The central opening has no doors and runs through the center of the barn from end to end.(13) ROADBED (c. 1844) Contributing Structure The historic roadbed is a continuation of Northcutt Road that runs along the creek north to the tenant house and the log house. This nineteenth-century road is twelve feet wide and is defined by eroded banks ranging from one-to-three feet high. The roadbed is un-surfaced and is currently used for farm purposes only. It is gated off from Northcutt Road.(14) FENCING (various periods) Contributing Structure There is a variety of fencing on the property that delineates the boundaries of the farm and contains the cattle. The system of fences dates to various periods from both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is a combination of wood and metal posts, chicken wire, barbed wire, wood fencing, and a stone wall. The stone wall runs from the gravel driveway south alongside the Northcutt Road following the creek to the edge of the Ready-Gates property. It dates from the middle of the nineteenth century and is made from stacked stone laid three-to-four feet high.