John Wesley Hunter was a man of vision. As one of Early County's most successful black farmers, he saw past life as a sharecropper to a future that provided a richer life for his family.

Born into poverty in Gordon, Ala., Hunter was the youngest of six boys. He left school early to help support his family, but still became proficient in reading and mathematics. These skills served him well in his later life.

In 1934, he married fellow Alabamian Mollie Lee Grimsley and the couple moved to Early County to sharecrop 200 acres of farmland owned by General Hicks, also a black farmer.

Hunter worked hard as a sharecropper, but saw little economic prosperity for him or his family. His sharecropping earnings were split with the landowner, leaving little to help support the family.

The family home was just a shanty with no indoor plumbing, but the Hunters had dreams of a better life.

Unlike many sharecroppers, Hunter owned a few cattle, a sow and some piglets. He used the sale of livestock to supplement the family's income and to fund his savings plan.

By 1937, he had saved $1,000 which he used to purchase 50 acres of land. The family moved to their new farm and left sharecropping for good. The family worked hard to make a living off their land and as they were able, added acreage to the farm. Before he was done, John Wesley Hunter owned approximately 1,000 acres.

In addition to raising corn, cotton, peanuts, milo and oats, Hunter also continued raising livestock. He realized that if he cut out the middle man, the cows would bring a greater profit. He invested in silos and stored the grain he raised to feed the 600 head of Angus and Hereford cattle he owned. In 30 years, John Wesley Hunter went from sharecropper to farming the largest black-owned farm in southwest Georgia. He received the 1956 Georgia Merit Farmer award by the Macon Telegraph and News in conjunction with Fort Valley State College for his excellence in farm management and soil conservation methods. In 1972, Ebony magazine ran a feature story about Hunter and his success in agriculture. And the Hunters built a five-room house complete with all the modern conveniences they dreamed of for so many years. John Wesley Hunter was also a great steward of his community. During the 1960s, he served as trustee for Carver Elementary School and Washington Elementary and

High School, working to help the underfunded schools gain additional staff and equipment.

He supported area youth in their educational careers, often helping fund college educations through loans and book purchases. Hunter and his wife also made sure an education was available for their own children with six of the nine children attending college.

Hunter supported local churches and was instrumental in the building of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal church where he served as chairman of the steward board and secretary until his death in 1993.

Delia Hunter Daniels wrote that by example, John Wesley Hunter taught his children to always be ready to accept the responsibilities that are necesary for building a productive life. He lived to see that legacy come true in his children and grandchildren. It is a legacy that still lives on today.

More about John Wesley Hunter can be found in Early County Historical Society Collections, Volume III.