Past the white, clapboard township house and the country church called Bennington Chapel, the Original Hatfield Homestead has stood the test of time.
It was established on Bennington Chapel Road in 1831 and has been passed down through the Hatfield family for seven generations. The farm now serves more than just growing soybeans and corn. It is a living archive of local history, agriculture, and family memories.
The family farm has earned “Sesquicentennial” status in the Ohio Historic Family Farm program, and it is within six years of gaining the “Bicentennial” distinction of having been owned by the same family and continuously farmed for 200 years.
The farm also serves as the headquarters for a family-run recycling company, SBC Solutions Group, which was founded by Lynn Hatfield, father of Ryan Hatfield, who now owns the business with his brothers.
His ancestors had a saying about the farm that he holds dear: “They always said the same thing: ‘Never mortgage and never sell,’ and they knew I would never sell it,” Ryan said.
| Read Part 1: Ohio’s Historic Family Farms program preserves state’s agricultural heritage and history of its top industry
| Read Part 2: Licking County’s Historic Family Farms, Part 2: The Original Hatfield Homestead, circa 1831
| Read Part 3: Licking County’s Historic Family Farms, Part 3: The Stevenson “Crack of Dawn Farm,” circa 1890
| Read Part 4: Licking County’s Historic Family Farms, Part 4: The Shaw Farm, circa 1883
| Read Part 5: Licking County’s Historic Family Farms, Part 5: Legend Hills Orchard/The Hoar Farm, circa 1904
| Read Part 6: Licking County’s Historic Family Farms, Part 6: Dry Creek Valley Farm, circa 1906
Ryan and his two older brothers now run SBC recycling from the farm, which includes about 220 acres of corn and soybeans, a few commercial warehouses, and the farmhouse that was home his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Ryan grew up down the street from the property but spent plenty of time in the original farmhouse that now serves as offices for SBC.
The property is nestled in the green, rolling hills between Utica and Johnstown, and it serves as a testament to the agricultural history of the area. On one side, beef cattle huddle under two trees to escape the blistering sun. Beyond them, a country road stretches east across a valley to the road’s namesake church and the old Bennington Township house on the next hill – both of which were built on land donated nearly 200 years ago by the Hatfield family.
James L. Hatfield, of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, visited the property in 1829, a few years before he and his wife, Elcy Mitchell, planted roots for their family. In 1831, they returned with a flock of sheep and two willow-tree saplings to buy the property officially.
The property was covered by a forest of buckeye and walnut trees – the same walnut trees from which the Bennington Chapel pews were made.
“The farm actually made it up to 605 acres at its biggest point in 1909, but over time, different generations sold some parcels because of bankruptcy,” Ryan said.
He loves to learn about and explore his family’s history – so much so that he has traveled to Europe several times to trace his ancestry.
While the Hatfields focus on the recycling business for a living, they lease the farmland to area farmers to grow crops and graze cattle.
Shortly after Ryan’s grandfather died, his dad opened the recycling company in 1992. While Lynn Hatfield and his family had been farming for generations, it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the farm and rely on a farm income.
When they were farming, they were all-in, Ryan said. His dad was inducted into the Licking County Agricultural Hall of Fame, the family won the 1990 Licking County Farm Bureau corn contest for the most bushels per acre and the highest yield for soybeans in 1991. Ryan estimates the farm produces about three times the corn and soybeans it did 100 years ago.
“Science and technology are a huge part of this industry, if my great-great-great grandfather saw those bushels of corn, I am not sure he would believe it,” Ryan said.
Now, Ryan and his brother Michael run the recycling business in Ohio. Meanwhile, their oldest brother, Randy, joined the business later after pursuing a corporate sales career. He operates a second branch of SBC recycling in Georgia.
The Hatfield’s company does not take recyclables directly from consumers. Instead, it provides recycling services for a variety of industries, including automotive, medical, electronic, food and beverage, and consumer products.
For example, if a company makes a misprint on t-shirts or packaging materials and needs to destroy them, SBC will recycle them. Most of the time, it’s just business for Ryan. But he happens to be a big Ohio State Buckeyes fan, so when the company was asked to recycle a lot of merchandise made in anticipation of the Buckeyes winning the 2020 Football Championship, that really stung.
“That hurt a lot, but that is the type of business we do, we help companies destroy manufacturer errors or overstock,” he said.
Lessons they learned from their father and grandfather while growing up on the farm prepared them for running a business, Ryan said.
“Dad always said, ‘You are better off to do no business rather than bad business.’ He really believed in doing the right thing and working hard, and he worked hard,” Ryan said.
Like most family farmers, Ryan’s dad also worked as a bus driver for the Northridge School District. “He wanted the best for himself and even better than the best for his kids, and he really believed in working hard, something we all remember today and teach our children.”
Something Ryan enjoys passing along to the next generation – and anyone who will listen – is good stories.
He said the old farm house, built in 1877, is known for paranormal activity. Generations of the family lived – and died – in the house.
Some say they can smell smoke from an old Hatfield’s pipe. Others, including Ryan, have witnessed a radio turn on by itself.
Ryan’s grandmother lived to the tune of a radio and refused to turn it off – ever. After she died – on the day Ryan finally turned off the radio – it mysteriously came back on moments later.
Other family members have reported interactions with the ghosts of relatives on multiple occasions.
The Original Hatfield Homestead also was known for its music. Generations back, they would assemble their instruments, invite neighbors and friends to join them and form an orchestra, playing concerts from the front porch roof.
One ancestor, Clyde Hatfield, part of the 4th generation, was said to be a great fiddle player. The story goes, Clyde would be out working on the farm with his brothers, then drop everything and race back to the house to write down a song that had come to him in the field. “No one he worked with appreciated it, but everyone agreed he could have made a career out of it; instead, it was more of a hobby or playing for local dances.” Ryan recalled the story he’s heard all his life.
Now, Ryan’s son plays the drums, and the family encourages him to pursue music.
One thing these Hatfields are not known for is fighting. While distantly connected to the legendary Hatfields of West Virginia, who famously fought with the McCoys of neighboring Kentucky, Ryan said, “They’re from the feudin’ branch, not our branch of the family.”
Delaney Brown writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here. Brown reported this series as part of the Lisska Summer Scholars Program at Denison University, funded in part by the Robert F. & Marion E. Ball Family.