Hawthorne in Louisville in Jefferson County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)

Agriculture & Farmington

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, April 7, 2024

1. Agriculture & Farmington Marker

Inscription. Throughout the nineteenth century, Kentucky led the nation in hemp production. By the 1830s, Farmington was 550-acre working hemp plantation - a center of agriculture and industry. Hemp, the most labor-intensive crop grown in the state, perpetuated slavery in the Commonwealth. John Speed owned one of the largest slave holdings in Jefferson County. Enslaved men planted hemp seed and eventually, processed the harvested crop into rope and bagging. Plantation outbuildings included a hemp barn and weaving factory, Farmington's fields also produced large quantities of corn, cabbage, sugar beets, beans, peas, Irish potatoes, and Timothy hay. Speed family letters indicate an abundance of fruit trees, including peach, cherry, plum, and apples. Enslaved African Americans Morocco and Rose sold currants, June apples, and raspberries at Louisville markets. Cider and vinegar, made from apples, were important commodities at Farmington.

"He was Judge Speed...he had a large farm about six miles out of town on the road to Bardstown. One field of this farm contained eighty acres, and hemp was raised in it every year, and grew ten or
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twelve feet high."
James Freeman Clarke 1899

"Dear Smith,
...The field adjoining the store house is secured in hemp and rolled so beautifully that it looks like a garden...Philip"
Family letter to Smith Speed, April 19. 1835. The Filson Historical Society

"My Dear Children, ...Say to Will, let Mr. Tracy hang on at the hemp breaks until he makes at least 17 - one more even for Reuben. We may need them all..."
John Speed to his children January 27, 1836, The Filson Historical Society

Captions
(Upper Photo) Hemp Cutting in Old Kentucky. Courtesy of the Filson Historical Society.
(Lower Photo): Hemp Breaking in Kentucky (Mercer County?) Arthury Y Ford Collection. Photographic Archives/Special Collections University Of Louisville

Erected by Kentucky Humanities Council, Inc.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Agriculture • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical date for this entry is January 27, 1836.

Location. 38° 12.86′ N, 85° 40.064′ W. Marker is in Louisville, Kentucky, in Jefferson County. It is in Hawthorne. It can be reached from Farmington Access Rd. east

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, April 7, 2024

2. Agriculture & Farmington Marker

of Lowell Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Farmington Access Rd, Louisville KY 40205, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Ohio River Valley.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Brothers Speed — Joshua and James (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Cabin at Farmington (about 300 feet away); Abraham Lincoln & Farmington — 1841 (about 500 feet away); Farmington (approx. ¼ mile away); Bowman Field (approx. 0.6 miles away); Bray Place / Scoggan-Jones Horse Farm (approx. ¾ mile away); Alonzo "Lonnie" Clayton / African American Jockey (approx. 0.9 miles away); Bashford Manor (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Louisville.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 15, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 8, 2024, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 244 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 10, 2024, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.