A Kentucky mother and daughter have become local heroes after refusing a combined offer of more than $26 million for their family farm, standing against developers seeking to build a large data center. Ida Huddleston, 82, and her daughter, Delsia Bare, 54, own neighboring properties in Mason County.
The developers, who are reportedly linked to Meta, had offered Bare $22.2 million for her 463-acre property and Huddleston $4.26 million for her 71-acre farm. The land has been in their family for nearly 200 years.
Initially, the mother and daughter agreed to sell, but they rescinded the deal upon learning the land was intended for a 2.2-gigawatt hyperscale data center. "Kick rocks and don’t come back," Bare told a representative of the company, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The decision has placed the two women, who describe themselves as God-fearing "country hicks," at the center of a national debate. "I never thought I’d be in a battle with a data center," Bare told the Wall Street Journal. "I thought I was about as far out in the boondocks as you could get."
While Huddleston and Bare refused the offer, other neighbors accepted deals. The company behind the proposed data center, which a Meta spokesman stated has not made a final decision to proceed in the area, also offered significant funds to adjacent landowners. Some residents of a mobile home park, many of whom were retired or on fixed incomes, accepted buyouts.
Following Huddleston's refusal, the company shifted its focus, seeking to rezone more than 2,000 nearby acres. The Mason County Fiscal Court approved the rezoning in May. This action prompted Bare to join a lawsuit aiming to halt the data center, citing concerns over potential impacts on the local community, including the addition of new power and gas lines and increased strain on the water supply, as reported by local outlet WRKC.
County officials have stated that the developers have committed to fully funding all necessary infrastructure, including roads, water, sewer, fiber, and electrical services, ensuring no cost to the community. The project is also projected to create approximately 400 permanent jobs with six-figure salaries and an estimated 1,500 construction jobs.
However, Huddleston remains skeptical. "I say they're a liar. That's what I say. It's a scam," she told the Wall Street Journal. She expressed a desire to preserve the family legacy, noting that her grandfather and great-grandfather farmed the land, growing wheat during the Great Depression.
Both Huddleston and Bare attribute their stance to deeply held beliefs. Huddleston cited her religious convictions, stating she believes in fulfilling a duty to "occupy" the land until divine intervention. Bare believes "artificial intelligence will be the destruction of the human race" and is committed to continuing the fight against the potential data center.
"Even if I had $26 million, I’d want to sit here in my chair, and have my coffee and eat my food where I always do," Huddleston told the Wall Street Journal.
