Near Gordonsville in Louisa County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Wheat Harvest

— Bracketts Farm Heritage Trail —

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, February 11, 2026

1. Wheat Harvest Marker

Inscription.

Wheat Harvest. . , Prior to 1789, very little wheat was grown in Virgina, except for family use. But the wars in Europe increased the demand for wheat production in America. Bracketts Farm began to grow wheat as a cash crop. By 1860, more than half of Bracketts Farm was used to grow wheat. Harvesting wheat is very time consuming. Done by hand, the crop was gathered from the fields using a scythe or sickle. After 1830, a mechanical reaper was employed., Milling is the process by which wheat is ground into flour. After it was ground, it would be stored at the granary until it was sold., Interesting Fact , Records indicate that in the 1830s, when Cyrus McCormick was traveling to plantations to demonstrate his newly perfected mechanical reaper, he came to Bracketts Farm. Here he introduced the time saving ability of the reaper. It seemingly convinced Watson, farm journal entries include expenses paid for his reaper.,

By the hand of David Watson ... , "Occasioned by a most destructive frost in the Autumn of 1788, and the unparalleled severity of the following winter, raised the price of wheat, in Virginia, to the then unheard-of height of 2 and 2½ $ a bushel. The extraordinary demand ... continued to increase, and is now our principal crop for market, manufacture, and exportation. I think it was several years after the great rise of wheat, in 1789, before a mill, intended particularly for manufacturing it, was built in Virginia, and before I ever saw a fan for separating the wheat from the chaff.", "1802 wheat this year, 1 cut my first crop of wheat which had been grown for me, the year before, by my father, on my Bracketts Farm which he had given to me.", By the hand of Thomas S. Watson ... , In 1871 the following men were paid $1 a day to cut, pick, and bind, wheat: Moses, William Jefferson, Harry Quarles, Jack Carter, Sam White and Janus White., In 1875 the following people were paid 1$ a day to cut, bind, or shock wheat: Armistead Johnson, Edmond Jefferson, Andrew Hiter, George Robertson, Lewis Ragland, Millie Green, Lucinda Johnson, Peter Holmes, Dolly Homes, Eliza Homes, Abraham Homes, Winston Carter, Overton Jasper, Chapman Marshall, Henry Marshall, Martha Marshall, William Mitchell, Maria Marshall, Lorinia Morning, Margaret Jefferson, Louisa Ragland, Meredith Jasper, and Winston Carter.

Prior to 1789, very little wheat was grown in Virgina, except for family use. But the wars in Europe increased the demand for wheat production in America. Bracketts Farm began to grow wheat as a cash crop. By 1860, more than half of Bracketts Farm was used to grow wheat. Harvesting wheat is very time consuming. Done by hand, the crop was gathered from the fields using a scythe or sickle. After 1830, a mechanical reaper was employed.

Milling is the process by which wheat is ground into flour. After it was ground, it would be stored at the granary until it was sold.

Interesting Fact
Records indicate that in the 1830s, when Cyrus McCormick was traveling to plantations to demonstrate his newly perfected mechanical reaper, he came to Bracketts Farm. Here he introduced the time saving ability of the reaper. It seemingly convinced Watson—farm journal entries include expenses paid for his reaper.

By the hand of David Watson ...
"Occasioned by a most destructive frost in the Autumn of 1788, and the unparalleled severity of the following winter, raised the price of wheat, in Virginia, to the then unheard-of height of
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2 & 2½ $ a bushel. The extraordinary demand ... continued to increase, and is now our principal crop for market, manufacture, and exportation. I think it was several years after the great rise of wheat, in 1789, before a mill, intended particularly for manufacturing it, was built in Virginia, and before I ever saw a fan for separating the wheat from the chaff."

"1802 wheat this year, 1 cut my first crop of wheat which had been grown for me, the year before, by my father, on my Bracketts Farm which he had given to me."

By the hand of Thomas S. Watson ...
In 1871 the following men were paid $1 a day to cut, pick, and bind, wheat: Moses, William Jefferson, Harry Quarles, Jack Carter, Sam White and Janus White.

In 1875 the following people were paid 1$ a day to cut, bind, or shock wheat: Armistead Johnson, Edmond Jefferson, Andrew Hiter, George Robertson, Lewis Ragland, Millie Green, Lucinda Johnson, Peter Holmes, Dolly Homes, Eliza Homes, Abraham Homes, Winston Carter, Overton Jasper, Chapman Marshall, Henry Marshall, Martha Marshall, William Mitchell, Maria Marshall, Lorinia Morning, Margaret Jefferson, Louisa Ragland, Meredith
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, February 11, 2026

2. Wheat Harvest Marker
Jasper, and Winston Carter.

Erected by Bracketts Farm.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Agriculture. A significant historical year for this entry is 1789.

Location. 38° 2.237′ N, 78° 10.13′ W. Marker is near Gordonsville, Virginia, in Louisa County. It is on Bracketts Farm Road half a mile west of Nolting Road, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1117 Bracketts Farm Rd, Louisa VA 23093, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Piedmont

and in Central Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

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,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Grave Yards (about 600 feet away, measured

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in a direct line); Tobacco Harvest (about 700 feet away); Campaign of 1781 (approx. 2.1 miles away); Ionia (approx. 2.1 miles away); Leaving Louisa (approx. 2.1 miles away); Boswell’s Tavern (approx. 2.4 miles away); Civilian Conservation Corps Company 2347 (approx. 2½ miles away); The Marquis Road (approx. 2½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Gordonsville.

Also see . . . Bracketts Farm - Located in the heart of the Green Springs National Historic Landmark District. (Submitted on February 12, 2026.)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 12, 2026. It was originally submitted on February 12, 2026, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 65 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 12, 2026, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.