Thompson Farms of Arbon Idaho awarded Century Farm award

A local farm has been recognized for serving the community for over 100 years.

According to a video created by the Thompson family, the owners of the farm, the story of the farm started when their ancestor, Nicolai Sorenson, a farmer from Denmark, immigrated to the United States in the 1850s.

The family originally settled in Cache Valley, Utah, where they started to build a new farm. They became one of the first settlers in Mendon, Utah. After Sorenson's death in 1887, their son, Jacob, continued to farm in Mendon.

As Jacob's family grew, he worried that the farm in Mendon would not be enough to sustain all of them, so they moved to Idaho and made adjoining homestead claims in Arbon Valley.

One of Jacob's sons, James Parley, moved to Arbon Valley with his family where they started to build a farm. He and his wife, Rachel, raised their family there while building the family farm. They were granted ownership of the farm in January 1914.

Throughout the years, James Parley Sorenson increased the farm's involvement with the community. He held numerous positions in the community. In 1927, he became the Power County Commissioner, and in 1939, he became the vice chairman of the Agriculture Conservation Association.

James Parley's son, Myron followed his father's footsteps into farming from a young age. His daughter, Devola, married Jesse Thompson. Their first son, Gaurth Thompson, was born in 1933.

Myron took over the farm in 1950 after his father retired. At the same time, his brother-in-law, Jesse was interested in starting his own farm in Arbon. Gaurth purchased farmland next to his parents' at age 16.

Myron was given ownership of the farm in 1969 after the deaths of his parents. He and his wife, Beulah were active in church and other community services while maintaining the farm.

Gaurth leased the farm from Myron in the 1980s. In 2003, he purchased the original homestead. In 2008, the farm was renamed Thompson Farms of Arbon Idaho, LLC.

The farm is currently operated by Gaurth's son Tyler Thompson and his family. The Thompson Farms grow several different kinds of crops, including mustard, wheat and garbanzo beans.

In 2017, there was a fire that threatened the farm. Tyler said in the video that the fire was along the main fence. Several neighbors came to help the Thompsons put out the fire.

"When there's a fire, the whole community comes to help," he said in the video.

The farm was honored by U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Idaho State Historical Society as a century farm. The farm met the criteria for farming on the same land as its ancestors did 100 years ago.

According to the video, the Idaho Century Farm and Ranch Program was created to recognize the contributions of Idaho farming and ranching pioneers by honoring the families who have farmed or ranched on the same land 100 years later.

Family members from both the Sorenson and Thompson side of the family came together to honor and celebrate the event.