Striking it Rich…by Growing Crops?

Striking it Rich…by Growing Crops?. . Fresh produce was difficult to come by along the California Trail. Emigrants would often pay sky-high prices for fruits and vegetables when they were available. The traders at Mormon Station were eager to take advantage of this demand., After building the trading station in 1851, John Reese and his company plowed about 30 acres of land. The following spring, they planted fruits, vegetables, and grains. Emigrants arriving at Mormon Station that summer were surprised to see crops growing here. Some said this was the first place they had seen cultivated land since leaving the Missouri River-a distance of almost 2,000 miles! Among the crops harvested and sold that year were wheat, corn potatoes, turnips, and watermelons. Imagine how refreshing a slice of watermelon might have tasted after traveling 400-plus miles across the Great Basin Desert!, The Tools that Made it Possible , The farming implements on display here are similar to what Reese’s company would have used in the early 1850s. Today these items are rusty and weathered, but at some time, these were valuable and innovative tools. Horse-drawn steel plows, seed planters, and cultivators offered greater productivity and convenience over earlier farming methods.