This cache is located on the eastern side of Agricenter
International. This is now a "Regular" cache and contains several
trade items. I have upped the difficulty to a full 2 stars because
of the logs. I really was not trying to make this one hard to find.
Good luck!
HISTORY
In the spring of 1979, several Memphis business leaders began
evaluating the feasibility of establishing an "Agricenter" in
Memphis. Ned Cook of Cook Industries, Hamilton Smythe III of Yellow
Cab Company, B. Lee Mallory of Memphis Compress and Storage, John
Barringer of Barringer Cotton Company, Robert Booth of Commercial
& Industrial Bank, and a number of others, began serious
planning of what an "Agricenter" could be and what economic
importance such a center would have for Memphis, the Mid-South and
the United States. It was a concept. An "Agricenter" had never been
built in the United States or anywhere else.
Sufficient planning progress was made in the following six
months prompting the formation of a board of directors for
Agricenter International at Memphis. This group of business
leaders, chaired by Ned Cook, continued the planning process,
utilizing private funding and vast amounts of volunteer effort.
Marketing studies indicated more than a half million agricultural
producers would visit "Agricenter" during its first year of
operation.
Support for the project was requested from Shelby County
Government. Mayor William N. Morris, Jr. appointed the five member
Shelby Country Agri-Center Commission, chaired by Hamilton Smythe
III. As a result of the 1982 Memphis Jobs Conference, with the
support of Governor Lamar Alexander and the State Legislature, $4.5
million was made available to the Agri-Center Commission by the
State of Tennessee for the Agricenter project. At the request of
the Agri-Center Commission, Shelby County provided strong support
of the project, making available an additional $2 million in
construction funds and the dedication of 1,000 acres of productive
farmland which was part of the 4,500 Shelby Farms property.
With funding in place, the Agri-Center Commission selected the
firm of Rudolph Jones and Associates of Memphis as the principal
architect supported by Lindy and Associates and BWB Associated,
Inc. as consultants. Garrett Eckbo and Associates, a leading
agricultural landscape architect from San Francisco, was employed
to design the 1,000 acre Demonstration Center. During the one and
one-half years that followed, detailed research and study developed
the final construction and landscape plans for a 140,000 square
foot Exhibition Pavilion and Demonstration Center. To head the
professional staff of Agricenter, Dick Sneddon was employed in
September 1983. In May, 1984, W.R. Naylor and Sons Construction
Company of Memphis was selected by Shelby County Government as the
general contractor. A grand opening of the first "International
Agricultural Market Center" to be constructed in the United States
was scheduled for 1985.
In the past, the Shelby County Penal Farm was a "model farm,"
producing sufficient meat, milk, eggs, vegetables, fruit, etc. to
meet its annual inmate needs. It was a "showcase" of modern
agricultural production and management. Now, Agricenter
International is re-emphasizing this significant leadership role
with its 1,000 acre Demonstration Center. The center is a
"Versailles" of American agricultural technology for all the world
to see and share. Having a mid-continent location where
agricultural producers from across the nation and the world can see
the latest technology in agricultural science exhibited and
demonstrated under productive farm conditions.
Agricenter is here today as a bright light, illuminating the
capabilities of this nation's number ONE industry, the backbone of
our nation's economy. Agricenter's impact will provide long-term
benefits to our country's future economy and to needy countries
overseas.