Wayne Township
Farming family
5 Musselman generations have worked the land

By Aldrich M. Tan
aldrich.tan@indystar.com

June 24, 2006

Once tall and blonde, retired farmer Wayne Musselman, 89, now walks with the aid of a wooden cane, and his hair has turned white.

But the Noblesville farmer strides with pride as he gazes upon his vast fields of green. The property still belongs to his family after many generations.

Like the resilient retired farmer, Musselman's 700-acre farm in Wayne Township also is still standing, even though urban sprawl is beginning to creep its way.

Last September, Noblesville approved three residential projects in Wayne Township, and planning director Steve Huntley said developers are "buying land like crazy out there."

They also are interested in the Musselman property, said Wayne's 91-year-old wife, Helen. Developers have called the farm and asked if the family is interested in selling the property.

The family's response is always: "No."

"I've farmed all my life," Musselman said. "It's the only thing I knew how to do."

The farm where he's lived all his life has belonged to his family for more than 100 years, since his grandparents Hattie and Oscar Musselman moved from Pennsylvania in 1883.

Wayne Musselman said he would wake up at 5 a.m. to help his family shuck corn before going to school in Clarksville at 7 a.m. After school, he helped feed cattle and milk cows. Long before mechanical tractors, he tilled the fields with a walking plow.

"You could easily get thrown off if you hit a rock," he said.

Musselman said he worked at an automobile plant in Anderson before World War II but eventually quit.

"I didn't like staying in one place the whole day," he said. "I'd rather be out on my fields."

He married Helen in 1937, and they raised six children. They have 21 grandchildren, 31 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Like the Musselman family, the farm also has expanded throughout the years and generations. The family farms 700 acres of corn, 800 acres of soybeans and 60 acres of hay.

The family also raises cattle, including Texas longhorns and shorthorns. The farm has two large barns, a cattle barn and a tool shop.

Today, Wayne's son David, 55, and David's son Cody, 20, run the farm. Wayne tends a small garden.

Meanwhile, Noblesville also is looking at expanding into the Wayne Township area, city planning director Huntley said. Better education systems and higher qualities of life are attracting new residents and developers.

The Musselman property is currently not under the city's planning jurisdiction, but it may be in the next few months, Huntley said.

Chuck Kiphart, director of the Hamilton County Plan Commission, said the city filed a request to take over the planning jurisdistion of the entire Wayne Township area in May.

Even with that change, though, the property owners decide what happens to their land, Kiphart said.

"Development can only come if the owners want to sell their property."

Offers for land in Wayne Township have been enticing, Huntley said.

"You're an instant millionaire if the developer offers you $50,000 an acre."

But for Wayne Musselman, keeping the farm going means retaining his family's legacy. The Musselman family's original home on Cyntheanne Road is a certified Hoosier Homestead. It sits next to the family's original 40 acres.

"It used to be painted white," said Helen Musselman, getting nostalgic. Today, the house is painted yellow and is rented out to a family.

Several acres away, a small, red brick schoolhouse on Pike Street in Clarksville has aged with time.

In its heyday, it held classes in two rooms, Wayne Musselman said. The four lower grades would be in the east room and the three upper grades would be in the west room.

"We would have a pitch-in dinner on the last day of school," he recalls with a smile. "Everyone would bring their own dishes."

The traditions continue at the Musselman family home. The 91 members of the extended Musselman family gather on the farm to celebrate holidays annually, Wayne's daughter Jean Fleming said.

"We intend to have this property for as long as we can," added daughter Joyce Wiggins, 67.

Today, the family will gather for another celebration, this time at the Noblesville Senior Citizens Center on Cumberland Road.

There, at 2 p.m., Wayne Musselman will celebrate his 90th birthday -- and a life on the family farm.

Call Star reporter Aldrich M. Tan at (317) 444-6309.