Westlake Corner in Franklin County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Animals for Food and Farm Work
Booker T. Washington National Monument
| | National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior | |
In 1860, the Burroughs owned four horses which they sheltered in a barn similar to this. Besides serving as the family's transportation, they pulled plows through fields and hauled wagonloads of cured tobacco leaves to the factory. Washington recalled taking sacks of corn on horseback to a local mill.
A few head of cattle, including "four milk cows," appeared under Burroughs' name in the 1860 census. Sheep provided meat and wool. Chickens, ducks, geese, and guinea fowl were used for food and bedding feathers. Hogs roamed free most of the year and were fattened on corn and butchered in the late fall, when the salted meat was hung in the smokehouse to cure over a smoky fire.
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Animals. A significant historical year for this entry is 1860.
Location. 37° 7.128′ N, 79° 43.803′ W. Marker is in Westlake Corner, Virginia, in Franklin County. It can be reached from Plantation Trail east of Plantation Trail Spur, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 12130 Booker T Washington Hwy, Hardy VA 24101, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southern 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 walking distance of this marker: Booker's Lifelong Love of Animals (here, next to this marker); The Day of Freedom
this page online
Other markers no longer nearby. Freed Here, At Last (was about 400 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); How Tobacco Farms Used Slavery (was about 400 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); The Landscape of Slavery (was about 500 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Slavery on the Plantation (was about 500 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Credits. This page was last revised on April 30, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 30, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 7 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 30, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
