Agriculture & Farmington

Agriculture and Farmington. . 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 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