Bill and I went for a Sunday Drive this morning to the McCormick Farm in Raphine, Virginia. The drive itself was filled with “photo ops” down quiet country roads. Expansive views came at us from all angles, barns and livestock and mountain vistas. Yes, we had been on these roads before but they are ever breathtaking.
Our destination was the McCormick Farm, home of Cyrus McCormick who invented the first mechanical reaper in 1834 when he was 22 years old! This may not sound like an earth shaking invention, but he literally opened a new era in agriculture “and an age of mechanization that not only changed life on the farm, but also made it possible for millions of people to leave their rural roots and enter a more industrialized society.” (from the farm brochure).
What a great surprise to find we were the only tourists there (well, almost). There was a democratic gathering of ducks sleeping on the banks of a stream. I say, “democratic” because each duck was of a different breed or ilk than the other and no two alike, yet they appeared to be snoozing in harmony and took no notice of us intruders. That is, until Bill and I headed for the picnic tree and decided to have lunch before exploring the farm. Suddenly the duck contingent began heated discussion and waddled over in a line. They remained highly vocal as we all shared sandwiches and discussed politics.
History Lesson (Skip This if You Think The Reaper is Boring)
Cyrus McCormick patented his horse drawn reaper and soon he was unable to produce enough of the machines at his farm’s blacksmith shop (the shop can still be visited by us tourists and ducks). So he went to Chicago (Cyrus did) and started a factory in 1847 to serve the Midwest.
The reaper and other farm machines developed by the McCormick Company and its subsequent companies (International Harvester for one), vastly reduced the number of people required to produce food and fiber. The results were that our society was freed from the soil and people were able to turn their energies toward industry, science and the arts around the world.
The 634 acre McCormick Farm is now known as the Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Research and Extension Center, which is now part of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University known as Virginia Tech. Agricultural research continues in the areas of animal science, plant science, agronomy, forestry, and other disciplines.
Beautiful!
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What a beautiful spot!
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We can’t even imagine, can we, how tedious life was before mechanization. The reaper and probably to a lesser extent (?) the cotton gin did more to advance us towards industrialization than would seem possible. I find this stuff endlessly fascinating, Dor, and love all the connections in history. Your ducks sound like a blast!
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Technology has changed farming. It’s helped some farms increase production and forced small farmers to take jobs in the city to help pay the bills. When I was in my teens, we lived in farm country. We only farmed about a half-acre for our use out of the 66 acres we owned. Some neighboring farms raised many crops, chickens and eggs, and cattle. Others, as I said, had a tougher go of it in trying to meet the bills for running a farm.
Love your historical look back and the photos of the ducks.
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You are so right Barbara – the good old days had to be awfully tiresome without the inventions we have come to take for granted. On the other hand, they didn’t know what they were missing! 🙂
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Thanks Judy! We live in farm country now and just across the way is a cattle farm. Others grow corn – supposedly the cash crop nowadays. There is also a trend here toward organic farming and we have three farmer’s markets. I found Cyrus McCormick’s invention at age 22 to be so impressive and the fact that he helped to lead us into the industrial is fascinating.
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Dor, I can’t get enough of your photos of Virginia. My favourite is the one where the mountain is framed by trees on either side. Excellent photographic technique – you are becoming an expert!!
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You do have beautiful scenery. I’ve seen the sign on the highway about Cyrus McCormick, but didn’t know what it referred to. Thanks for today’s history lesson.
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Hi Dor, thank you for the history lesson! 🙂 And I just love that first photo. You caught just the right angle of the curving road sweeping into the distance, it just looks so inviting!!
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What a nice drive! Wouldn’t you think there would be lots of tourists out and about on Memorial Day weekend? I smiled about the “democracy of ducks” reference. lol.
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I love that old Mill….it’s amazing how these structures survive, now if they could only talk. The ducks are priceless and look like a meeting at the United Nations!
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Very pretty countrside. I feel the same way about where we live. Even though we see the scenery all the time we never get tired of it. I guess ducks all speak the same language where a free lunch is concerned 🙂
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This reminds me much of the place I now live…
Dor, I am still getting used to the roosters crowing and the early morning moooo of the cows across in the field from the house. lol
Not to mention the wonderful fragrance of fertilizer (chicken poop) floating through the air .
But compared to Ann Arbor…I would much rather listen to nature and not to the Michigan Wolverine band practicing for an upcoming game.
As always, wonderful photography and post.
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Have always admired the work ethic of our farmers, especially in the early days. Interesting post!
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What beautiful country for a Sunday drive – I envy you. Great post!
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I would love to settle down there. Nice curving roads!
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What a perfect Sunday drive. I LOVE all of your photos, Dor! I’m especially fond of the Gristmill shot…lovely!
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You are a great inspiration my friend! Thank you. 🙂
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Be sure to stop next time… it’s a lovely spot. I’ll meet you there. 🙂
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The drive is amazing Melissa – like taking a drink of cool clear water. And I thought of you at the farm and how your children would love to romp around there on such a lovely day.
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As we left for the Sunday drive Kathy, I actually said, “I hope it’s not too crowded with tourists at McCormick Farm.” I was stunned that we had the place to ourselves. Even the country roads were deserted. People must have had bigger things in mind.
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We must be getting old to find so much joy in feeding a “gaggle?” of ducks. They did a lot of gaggling for sure and I figured it was all about politics and who should be first in line for the goodies.
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We are both very lucky it seems, to be living in areas we love and never tire of.
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No roosters here but we can hear the cows mooing across the hill. There’s a lot of wildlife around too. Life is definitely good.
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Thanks Tina! Farmers basically still rule in our rural area of Virginia and ’tis a good thing.
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Thanks Coastoalcrone! We keep telling ourselves how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place.
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Come on over! I’ll bet we can find you a great place to settle down! 🙂
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It really was a delightful day Jill. Wish you were here.
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Is the McCormack you refer to the same one that the spice company is named for?
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Thanks but I think the true inspiration is that gorgeous countryside that surrounds you :).
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I don’t think so Ronnie… this Cyrus McCormick spelled his with an “i”…. but you never know about these things. I will try to find out for sure.
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🙂 🙂
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Be right there. 🙂
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I’d love that, Dor.
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What a picturesque drive ❤
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What a lovely drive! Good for you for getting some learnin’ into the mix – like sneaking flax seed into muffins so the fiber doesn’t show.
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Awww… they sure would, Dor!
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Thanks for the opportunity to “visit” a place I have never been before. I enjoyed being an armchair touris this morning!
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Lovely scenery — if I ever knew that Cyrus was a Virginia boy, I’d forgotten it!
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Peaceful, pastoral-splendor!
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Such beautiful landscape in your area! It was interesting to read about the reaper – a huge leap forward for mankind. Your accompanying guide ducks were charming!
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“A teaspoon of sugar…” 🙂
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Very nice farming landscape.
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