By Sarah Gee
©Voice, May 2007

The beautiful Milky Way manor house.

Pulaski, TN – Built in the early 1930s by candy magnate Frank Mars, Milky Way Farms has long been a place of great influence in Giles County, Tennessee. It is a beautiful rolling property of nearly 3,000 acres that includes a beautiful Tudor style manor house, a number of gracefully styled cottages of both stone and wood construction, a racetrack, and countless beautiful barns that once housed top Thoroughbreds, Saddlebreds, Standardbreds, Tennessee Walking Horses, Mules, Hereford cattle, Holstein-Friesian dairy cows, and Hampshire sheep. Famous residents of the barns included 1940 Kentucky Derby Champion Gallahadion, 1935 Arlington Park Lassie Stakes winner Forever Yours, and the Hereford bull Tommy Domino 14th that made history by selling for a then world record price of $65,000. Constructed during the depression, Milky Way was viewed by many in Giles County as a savior as Mr. Mars employed approximately 900 men and women at any give time to run the farm.

While parts of the property have been allowed to fall into disrepair and some of the barns have even fallen in or burned, it remains one of the premier historic sites in southern Middle Tennessee based both on the remaining historic structures and the farm’s historic impact on Giles County and Tennessee as a whole. This prominence brought the property to the attention of developer Charles Ausburn of New Horizon Communities. New Horizon purchased the property in 2006 and, on April 6, 2007, held a press conference detailing their plans for developing and restoring it into a many faceted community.

That community will include seasonal and permanent residences, retail and sports complexes, an equestrian center complete with horse show facilities and riding trails, and the Jay Haas Galaxy Golf Club. The beautiful manor house will serve as a club and guesthouse while the barns and cottages will be restored to serve various purposes. Plans call for the racetrack to be maintained for future use. Upon completion, Milky Way will once again be the showplace of southern Middle Tennessee – a must see for any visitor to the region.