The Age of Grain: Wheat and the Shenandoah Valley, 1730–1900

From 1730 to 1900, Virginia lived through its "Age of Grain." Economics, transportation and industry made the Shenandoah Valley the most productive wheat region in the South, and Belle Grove stood at the height of an agricultural economy built on grain and slavery. As a Park Service study put it, the valley was well placed for commercial wheat farming and flour milling, with fertile, limestone-based river-bottom soils ideal for wheat.

Native American farmers

About 1,000 years ago, Native American peoples began growing crops near the valley, in villages along riverbanks, presumably for the richest soil. Early crops were mostly local plants — squashes, walnuts, sunflowers and a kind of quinoa — that thrive in limestone-rich ground. During the Little Ice Age, a period of global cooling, other cultures moved in, perhaps pushed south by cold and poor harvests, and began growing corn (maize) and beans.

Colonial and early American farmers

Unlike much of the South, which relied on single cash crops like tobacco or cotton, early valley settlers farmed diversely — corn, cereal grains, livestock grasses and flax for linen, for home use, local sale or barter. Horses gave power and transport; cattle gave meat, milk, cheese and butter; hogs were the main protein; sheep gave wool and meat. Tobacco and hemp were early cash crops, but their value fell sharply after the Revolution.

The rise of wheat

Farmers found that wheat grew easily in the limestone fields. The French and Indian War created a demand for flour to feed soldiers big enough to cover the cost of hauling it to markets like Baltimore and Philadelphia. By 1810, the valley was the leading wheat region in the South.

Mills

Steep terrain and fast creeks such as Cedar Creek and Opequon Creek powered many water mills. Around Middletown they included Hottle Mill (part of the Hite complex), Stickley Mill (remains still standing), Bowman's Mill (where Kershaw's troops crossed Cedar Creek) and Miller's Mill (where General Ramseur was mortally wounded). Besides grinding flour and meal, mills sawed logs, ground plaster, processed wool, pressed apples and made fertilizer.

Trade and transportation

Links to city markets let valley merchants bring in manufactured goods, while wheat sales gave the rural middle class more money to spend. The all-weather Valley Turnpike, and then railroads at Strasburg and Winchester, made shipping easier.

Breadbasket of the Confederacy

In the Civil War, the valley was strategically vital: it gave Confederate armies a route to Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., and the Turnpike moved troops and artillery quickly. Its harvests led Confederate leaders to call it "The Breadbasket of the Confederacy." In 1864, Union forces were ordered to destroy it as a source of supplies. In "The Burning," they destroyed thousands of barns, killed or seized livestock and burned the mills — yet valley wheat production kept growing despite the war.

After the war

Valley farmers went on producing record wheat crops: in 1900, the valley grew 40 percent of Virginia's wheat on just 13 percent of its farmland. The Baltimore Agricultural Aid Society helped with livestock, seed and tools — and the valley's recovery greatly benefited Baltimore's merchants. Farmers also invested in reapers and threshers.

Change

By the late 1800s, farmers were turning to apple orchards and dairying. Wheat hit an all-time high in 1920, driven by World War I demand, then declined steadily through the 1940s. Today's farmers also raise much poultry — chickens, eggs and turkeys — though Belle Grove still grows grain.

Sources

Based on "Age of Grain," Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain.