Edgewater in Anne Arundel County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Java Plantation Life
Hoe to Plow
Photographed By Don Morfe, February 10, 2015
1. Java Plantation Life Marker
Inscription.
Java Plantation Life. Hoe to Plow. The increase in tobacco production was closely linked with the economic growth of America. Tobacco was so popular that it was used as money. Maryland had a suitable climate for its production, so the area thrived. The Java Plantation, like other area plantations grew tobacco as its major crop.
The Java plantation flourished because of tobacco, but not without cost. This plant quickly depletes the nutrients in the soil. To solve this problem, early settlers simply cleared more land for planting. In the first two centuries of European settlement in Maryland, virtually all trees had been cut down.
Growing tobacco was hard work. Working with a hoe was tedious, but disturbed the soil to a minimal depth. The plow, invented in the 1790s made the process easier, but disturbed the soil to a greater degree. This disturbance, combined with the loss of trees which hold the soil, greatly increased the erosion of soil into creeks and rivers from precolonial times.
(Inscriptions under the images from left to right) , Hoe, Plow, Tractor, Rolling a hogshead filed with tobacco, Tobacco Stamp.
The increase in tobacco production was closely linked with the economic growth of America. Tobacco was so popular that it was used as money. Maryland had a suitable climate for its production, so the area thrived. The Java Plantation, like other area plantations grew tobacco as its major crop.
The Java plantation flourished because of tobacco, but not without cost. This plant quickly depletes the nutrients in the soil. To solve this problem, early settlers simply cleared more land for planting. In the first two centuries of European settlement in Maryland, virtually all trees had been cut down.
Growing tobacco was hard work. Working with a hoe was tedious, but disturbed the soil to a minimal depth. The plow, invented in the 1790s made the process easier, but disturbed the soil to a greater degree. This disturbance, combined with the loss of trees which hold the soil, greatly increased the erosion of soil into creeks and rivers from precolonial times.
(Inscriptions under the images from left to right) Hoe, Plow, Tractor, Rolling a hogshead filed with tobacco, Tobacco Stamp.
Location. 38° 53.349′ N, 76° 32.929′ W. Marker is in Edgewater
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, Maryland, in Anne Arundel County. Marker is on Dock Road. The marker is near the Java Farm Tobacco Barn. It is on the grounds of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Edgewater MD 21037, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on February 15, 2015, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 364 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on February 15, 2015, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
