A Farming Community

A Farming Community. . , The story of farming in the Macungie area spans almost four hundred years, and far longer if the seasonal villages of native Indians are included. Agriculture was the most important industry in this area from the time of the first Europeans in the 1730s until its predominance began to decline during the 1970s and 1980s., Through the 1700s mixed farming was practiced. Crops were grown for food, fodder, and income; flax was planted to grow fibers for home-made textiles; swine were raised for meat and fat; chickens for eggs and meat; cattle for milk, meat, and brawn. By 1800 much greater acreage was under cultivation, many farmers had become prosperous, fewer oxen and more horses provided power on the farm, and the size of homes, barns, and families had increased greatly., During the mid-1800s great changes took place on farms. Iron implements became affordable, crops could be transported by train, and advances were made in scientific understanding of soils, crop rotation, and fertilization. Industrialization affected farming in two ways: new types of machinery for planting and harvesting made it possible to produce more with fewer workers, and opportunities opened up for farm workers to find paying jobs in industries and businesses in nearby towns. Many, no longer needed on the farm, moved into places like Allentown and Emmaus., In the last sixty or seventy years great changes have taken place. Livestock and small grains have given way to corn and soybeans, and hedgerows separating fields have been erased so large equipment can be used. Some farming persists, but most of the land that was the pride of our forefathers have been built on and cannot be reclaimed for nature's purposes., [Captions:] , The A.K. Snyder company was a large butchering operation in the western end of Lower Macungie, near Alburtis., Most farms had cows, and dairy farms had large herds of them. Farmers who did not process their own milk took it to a creamery, such as the one that used to be on the Creamery Road, to be transported to a dairy. Milk was most valued for the butter that could be made and sold; leftover skim milk was often mixed with grains for pig feed., A portable gas-powered engine for threshing and shelling, plus many other tasks around the farm, was an indispensable piece of equipment before the 1930s, when electricity was extended into the countryside., Hay, an important crop when horses provided power on the farm, loaded into a wagon to be taken to the barn for storage, about 1914., Pigs were raised by all farmers from the beginning, primarily for their fat. When a pig was slaughtered, every last bit of it was used in some way. After large meat processing companies were founded, such as Arbogast and Bastian in Allentown, pig production increased., Potatoes were one of the most important crops in Lehigh County from the late 1800s to 1954. The largest dealer in the Lehigh Valley was based in Lower Macungie. Elias Bastian, who farmed the land here at Hamilton Crossings with his father Clinton, invented improved farm equipment, including some for potato growers., Before the 1960s, combined harvesters were uncommon. This photo dates from 1979. Combines husked and shelled grain in the field, and could be fitted with a head for corn or for small grains., The Unger barn on Willow Lane in the early 1900s., Will Weaver was one of the first farmers to purchase a tractor in this township. It's a circa 1915 McCormick with a power takeoff on the side that is hidden. The photo dates from about 1920., Harvesting potatoes on D.D. Fritch's farm in 1927.