In 1807 John Harding purchased 250 acres of land on the east side of Richland Creek including Dunham's Old Station and added a second room to the cabin for his growing family. The farm stood on the Chickasaw Trail, which became the Natchez Trace, the main trade route from Nashville to Natchez, Mississippi, bringing a constant flow of travelers and customers. Its businesses included a blacksmith shop, a sawmill, a grist-mill, a cotton gin, and stables for boarding and breeding horses, providing enough income to expand both land and slave holdings. Financial success also led to the construction of a new house across the yard, where the Harding family took up residence in 1820. The cabin eventually became the home of Bob Green, the head trainer, whose experience and hard work helped make the Belle Meade Stud farm and his own reputation as a trainer world-renowned. After Bob's death in 1907, the Spirit of the Times, a popular equine publication, wrote that Bob Green would always be remembered as a demigod in the world of horse racing.
