Thursday, November 15, 2012

Cyrus McCormick Farm

Raphine, Virginia

The 620 acre estate of Cyrus McCormick, the inventor of the first mechanical reaper, was known as Walnut Grove and remained in the McCormick family until 1954 when the family donated the property to Virginia Tech. Today the original buildings, including the family home, workshop and mill are open to the public. Virginia Tech operates the Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Research and Extension Center on the property.

Cyrus McCormick demonstrated the first successful reaper on a nearby field of oats in 1831. The picture above shows the McCormick workshop.

0 comments :