Bussard Family

Bussard Family. . , After unsuccessfully trying his hand at the mercantile business in Frederick County, Thaddeus Bussard decided to try farming in Montgomery County where land was more plentiful and inexpensive. When the Bussards bought this property in 1888, the only outbuilding standing was a horse shed. By 1906, Thaddeus had constructed a smokehouse, blacksmith shop, hen house/"brooder," ice house, carriage house, double cornhouse, granary, wind break, hay barrack and a large bank barn., Some of the agricultural outbuildings seen today are not original to this farm but are tangible examples of the types of structures used by the Bussards. Thaddeus Bussard maintained a crop rotation in which he planted corn every third or fourth year, followed by grasses, wheat, wheat and clover in combination, and then hay. Corn grown on this farm was stored in an elevated double corn crib, like the one relocated here from the King Farm in Gaithersburg. By the end of the 20th century, most farmers replaced the corn crib with the more commonly recognized silo, as was the case at Bussard Farm., Thaddeus and Ann Bussard deeded the property in 1924 to their second son, Harry, who began running the farm in 1916 when he married Catherine Lawson. They raised nine children in the house and maintained their 270-acre farm until it was conveyed to M-NCPPC in 1971. Established in 1977, the Agricultural History Farm Park teaches the County's agrarian practices from 1776 to World War II.,

(Thaddeus) "marketed his own products. His normal routine was to rise at 4 o'clock in the morning, load the wagon, and set off down the 7th Street Pike to the markets in Washington." , Zazelle Bussard Royer, Thaddeus Bussard daughter

, [Captions:] , Thaddeus and Ann Bussard had nine children, and each contributed to the family economy by completing chores around the farm such as collecting eggs and milking cows from left to right: Louis Bussard, Felicia Bussard, Zazelle Bussard Royer, Thaddeus Tyson Bussard, Harry Bussard, Samuel Finney Frock and son, Bessie Bussard and Ann Priscilla Bussard, Mrs. Finney Frock and her two children., The Blentsillinger family built the barn in 1898 with louvered, rather than false-painted windows, to provide ventilation for their 17 Hereford dairy cows owned by the bussards., The pond not only supplied ice for the family, but was also an outlet for winter recreation such as ice skating., Milk from these cows was processed into cream that the family sold to markets in Washington, D.C.