Denver Downs Farm has been owned by the Garrison family since 1872. After service in the Civil War, and running the Autumn Manufacturing Cotton Farm near Sandy Springs, William Dunklin Garrison bought 274 acres on General's Road. He began farming this land and built a farm house for his wife and 11 children.
Thomas E. Garrison, Sr., was the youngest son and stayed at the farm while the other children were given land or funds to purchase property and build houses in the surrounding communities. During his years of farming, he added acreage to the land. The farmhouse built by W.D. Garrison is still occupied by his grandson and his family, Mr. and Mrs. T. Ed Garrison.
In the early years, the farm produced primarily cotton with tenant farmers helping.
When T. Ed Garrison, Junior, returned from being a bomber pilot in the South Pacific during WWII, he bought 10 Jersey cows and began a dairy. For 50 years, T. Ed increased his farming acreage and his dairy grew to become the 2nd largest Holstein farm in Anderson County with over 300 cows in the milking herd.
Around 1960 T. Ed's wife, Juanita Bartlett Garrison, and daughter Gaye, named the farm Denver Downs, in recognition of its nearness to Denver train crossing, and the rolling fields and pastures which resemble the downs of England from which the Garrison name comes.
Both T. Ed Garrison, Jr., and Tom Garrison, III, have played a significant roll in S.C. agriculture. T. Ed Garrison served in the state legislature for 30 years and chaired the Senate Agriculture, Education and other committees. Tom has served on many state boards including Soil Conservation, Farm Bureau, and Department of Natural Resources.
The T. Ed Garrison Livestock Arena near Clemson University is named after Senator Garrison.
In the mid 1980's T. Ed's sons, Tom and Bart Garrison leased and began operating the dairy and crop production on the century old farm. In 1990, Bart and another worker were killed in a tragic farm accident. A few years following the tragedy, the dairy herd was sold. In effort to diversify the Denver Downs Farm operation, Tom soon added a beef cattle herd to his crop production.
In the late 1980's, the farm market operation began as a tent in the front yard of Ed and Juanita's house. The Garrison's have always been an honest and trusting family. Because of this, the "honor system" was often their means of selling produce. The produce stand was later moved next to the little white house on the corner of Lakeside Road and Clemson Blvd where the Denver Downs Farm Market is currently located.
After taking her daughters to a corn maze and pumpkin patch in Enoree one year, Angie, Tom's wife convinced Tom to plant his own pumpkin patch and corn maze the following year. About that same time, Lee Garrison Smith and her husband Ron moved from Charlotte, NC, back to the farm and began helping with the maze. Sister Elizabeth began increasing involvement and soon after Catherine Garrison Davis joined the family team to help with the corn maze and pumpkin festivities. Ed and Juanita (aka the patriarch and matriarch) are always helping whenever they can. The next generation of Garrisons (Abbie and Lillie Garrison, and Garrison and Emily Smith) are continuing their farm family heritage and helping with the maze and farm market when they are not involved with school activities.
