The Marl Creek Interpretive Trail

The Marl Creek Interpretive Trail. At McCormick Farm. Agriculture has changed in the Shenandoah Valley since McCormick’s day. Once known as the “breadbasket of the Confederacy” because of the amount of wheat grown here, the Valley grows very few small grains today. Much of the grain production moved to the flat prairies of the mid-west once the invention of the reaper made harvesting easier. Although some row crops are still grown, the primary use of these fields is now livestock pasture., The change from grain farming to pasture is only one of many changes in land management in the last century and a half. This trail is designed to show you how farming practices have changed, especially along our streams and waterways. We now manage our farm fields for long-term environmental health an agricultural productivity, while we have set aside the sensitive riparian area for water quality protection and as a wildlife corridor. Travel quietly, and you may see migratory birds, or other native wildlife in their habitat. Please stay on the trail.