Cyrus McCormick Farm facts for kids
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McCormick Farm and Workshop
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Grist mill (left) and blacksmith shop (right)
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 Location in Virginia
Location in the United States
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| Location | S of Staunton on U.S. 11 and Raphine Road at Walnut Grove, Steele's Tavern, Virginia |
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| Area | 644 acres (261 ha) |
| Built | 1809 |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000846 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHLD | July 19, 1964 |
The Cyrus McCormick Farm and Workshop is a historic place in Virginia. It was once the family farm of a famous inventor named Cyrus Hall McCormick. This farm was known as Walnut Grove. Cyrus McCormick made a huge improvement to the mechanical reaper, a machine that helped farmers harvest crops. His work eventually led to the invention of the combine harvester, which is still used today.
The farm is located near Steele's Tavern and Raphine. It sits close to the border of Rockbridge and Augusta counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. Today, the farm is a museum. It is managed by the Virginia Agricultural Experimental Station of Virginia Tech. You can visit the museum for free. It covers about 5 acres of the original 532-acre farm.
Contents
A Look Back: The Farm's Story
The McCormick farm started with 532 acres of land. The main buildings were grouped together on about 5 acres. Eight of the nine original buildings are still standing today. Many of these buildings have been fixed up since the farm was built. Robert McCormick, Cyrus's father, created the farm in 1822.
Buildings and Daily Life
The eight buildings that remain include a grist mill, a blacksmith shop, living quarters for farm workers, a carriage house, the main manor house, a smoke house, a schoolroom, and housekeeper's quarters. There was also an ice house, but it was taken down in the 1960s. Each building had an important job on the farm.
The grist mill was built before 1800. It was used to grind wheat into flour. The blacksmith shop was where tools and farm equipment were made and fixed. This is also where Cyrus McCormick designed and built his famous reaper. The living quarters provided homes for the people who worked on the farm. The carriage house stored carriages and other wheeled vehicles.
The manor house was built in 1822. It was the first brick building on the farm and stood in the center. Behind it was the smoke house. Here, meat was dried and smoked to keep it fresh through the winter. This was important before refrigerators existed. The McCormick family also had a school on their property for local children.
The Amazing Reaper: How It Changed Farming
The McCormick Farm at Walnut Grove is famous as the birthplace of the mechanical reaper. This machine was the first version of the modern combine harvester. Cyrus McCormick supposedly designed, built, and tested his first reaper in just six weeks at Walnut Grove. However, his father and brother had worked on similar ideas for over 20 years. Cyrus's design was a big improvement.
Soon after building his first reaper, he used it to harvest his first crop that same year. Cyrus kept working on his invention. He made new and better models almost every ten years.
Before the reaper, a farmer could only harvest about half an acre of crops in a day. It took a lot of hard work. After the reaper was invented, farmers could harvest up to 12 acres a day! This meant much less manual labor was needed. The mechanical reaper did not require a whole family to work all day. Instead, one farmer could operate the machine, and it would do most of the work. Cyrus McCormick's inventions allowed farmers to grow crops on much larger areas of land than ever before.
From Farm to Big Business
After his father passed away, Cyrus McCormick moved his business. In 1847, he went from Virginia to Chicago, Illinois. He chose Chicago because of the rich, flat land in the midwestern United States. In 1859, his brothers, Leander James McCormick and William Sanderson McCormick, joined him. They formed a company called Cyrus H. McCormick and Brothers.
By the late 1800s, McCormick's company had built an early combine machine. This machine could harvest grain even faster and cheaper than the older reapers. In 1902, the company joined with a competitor called Deering Harvester Company. They also merged with some smaller companies. Together, they formed a new, large company called International Harvester.
Protecting This Special Place
The McCormick family owned the farm until 1954. Then, they gave it to Virginia Polytechnic Institute. It became an agricultural center and a memorial to the farm's history. Today, the schoolroom still has old textbooks, toys, and school supplies from the 1830s.
The farm was named a National Historic Landmark in 1964. This means it is a very important historical site in the United States. The farm is located less than 5 miles (8 km) from the Interstate 81 highway. It is about halfway between Lexington, Virginia and Staunton, Virginia.
