Ellington Agricultural Center

Ellington Agricultural Center. Tennessee Agricultural Museum. During the 1930 collapse of Caldwell's financial empire and subsequent Great Depression, the State of Tennessee lost its sizable financial assets invested in The Bank of Tennessee. The State took legal action to recover these funds and learned that Caldwell had engaged in patterns of misdirection with the bank's capital and jeopardized the State's investment even before the stock market crash. As the situation escalated, Caldwell continued to evade the State and other investors. An extensive, lengthy investigation and later trial resulted in Caldwell's loss of Brentwood Hall to the State., Agricultural Commissioner, farmer, and later governor (1959-1963 and 1967-1971), Buford Ellington recognized the value in relocating the Tennessee Department of Agriculture to the site. In 1957, he initiated the Department's move to the 207 acres that remained of the original estate. In 1961, the campus was named the Ellington Agricultural Center in his honor., Many of Caldwell's buildings have transitioned to modern uses. The Brentwood House is now the Moss Administration Building, Former tenant cabins provide historical context and support educational events hosted by the Tennessee Agricultural Museum. The barn for Caldwell's racehorses is now the Tennessee Agricultural Museum and the barn for his working horses is the Ed Jones Auditorium., A building that was once a stable and garage now houses offices for the United States Department of Agriculture., Photo captions: , Top: Artistic rendering of the Ellington Agricultural Center during its early years. Courtesy of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. , Bottom: Buford Ellington, 1967. Courtesy of the Tennessee State Library and Archives