Connecticut’s Changing Agricultural History

By the end of the 17th century, there were about 38 white settlements in Connecticut – 20 inland and 18 on navigable waters – with a total population of about 24,000. According to agricultural historian Edward H. Jenkins, the early years of Connecticut agriculture "were a fierce struggle against starvation and murderous attack, demanding almost continual manual labor from the community, men, women, and children alike."

Furthermore, the farming tools used by the early colonists of Connecticut were no "better than had the farmers of Julius Caesar’s day; in fact, the Roman ploughs were probably superior to those in general use in America eighteen centuries later."

Few of the early settlers of Connecticut could afford not to farm: their lives depended upon it. It would be more than a century before the evolution of Connecticut’s economy would reach a point where enough people would be able to be freed from working the land to pursue other economic activities. By 1790, more than 90 percent of Connecticut’s inhabitants were engaged in farming. Within 100 years, however, barely 30 percent of Connecticut’s population were farmers. As time passed, the tools of farming improved vastly. Methods of farming greatly improved as well, even becoming a course of study at Connecticut colleges and universities.

Threats from Indians and from predators and pests decreased, and roads and means of transportation aided the commercial growth of agriculture tremendously. Bartering decreased as the economy evolved, and a standard monetary system appeared, thus enabling farmers to sell their crops for cash.

The early colonists of Connecticut were dependent upon the aboriginal staples of North America – corn (maize), beans, squash, pumpkins, and peas. In fact, stores of corn from early New England Indians enabled early English settlers of the region to survive. The source of corn and beans to the Indians was the crow. According to Roger Williams:

These birds, although they doe the corne some hurt, yet scarce one native among an hundred wil kil them, because they have a tradition that the Crow brought them at first an Indian graine of corne in one Eare and an Indian or French Beane in another from the great god Cantantowit’s field in the Southwest from when they hold came all their corne and beans.

As time passed, other crops such as cultivated fruit trees, wheat, barley, and oats appeared in Connecticut. Hemp, flax, and tobacco also became important crops to the early colonists. Honey is thought to have first been produced in Wethersfield in 1648. Of course, livestock – cows, horses, oxen, hogs – were an important component of early Connecticut agriculture as well. Orchards for fruit production began to proliferate in the middle decades of the 18th century. The middle decades of the 18th century also saw the production of silk through the cultivation of mulberry trees increase dramatically, especially in Mansfield. Tobacco became an export crop in the 18th century as well.

Hogs and sheep were commonly raised in Connecticut. In fact, according to Jenkins, in 1781 more sheep were raised in Connecticut than in any two of the other colonies combined. The wool of Connecticut sheep was prized: "Their wool is better than in other colonies but not so fine or as good as the English." Cow population grew as well but not as quickly as the sheep population. To protect their livestock from predators, towns often offered bounties to kill wolves, bears, and wildcats. As a result, no wolves have been living in the state since about the 1830s, and bears and cougars are rare.

Jenkins characterizes 19th century agriculture in Connecticut as being a time when a self-sufficient economy made a transition to a commercial economy. Commercial farming then took a hit from southern and western competition, forcing another transition from unprofitable crops to "more intensive production of the very perishable farm products, fruit, vegetables, milk, etc., for consumption in adjacent cities." This diversification of farming products has persisted into the 20th and 21st centuries.

The demand for locally grown fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy products, and meats has grown in recent years. Connecticut farmers have responded to the public’s increased call for organic, pesticide-free, and hormone-free products. The rapid increase and popularity of local farmers’ markets in recent years, as well as the continued popularity of traditional agricultural fairs in many Connecticut communities reflect this demand. Both farmers’ markets and agricultural fairs have become venues for the sale of these specialty products. Increasingly, too, more locally produced products are finding their way into grocery stores.

Thomas Jefferson’s ideal of an agrarian America gave way to Hamilton’s vision of an industrial world in the 19th century. Connecticut followed that trend. Nevertheless, though both the number of farmers and the acreage devoted to agriculture have decreased dramatically since colonial times, Connecticut agriculture is alive and well in 2011. It simply has had to improvise and adapt to changing times.

If you're in the market for some fresh, locally grown produce, be sure to stop by the today, Wednesday, Sept. 14, where you can also meet your local Patch editors.

Notes, Sources, and Links:

1. All quotations from: A History of Connecticut Agriculture by E.H. Jenkins, 1925
2. CT Department of Agriculture website
3. There are over 100 farmers’ markets in Connecticut in 2011. There’s at least one going on every day of the week. By state statute, CT farmers’ markets can only sell CT grown products.
4. For a complete list of CT farmers’ markets, click on the following link: http://www.ct.gov/doag/cwp/view.asp?a=3260&q=398996

5. For a complete 17-page list of the specialty products produced by Connecticut farmers in Connecticut, click on this link to the Connecticut Department of Agriculture:

http://www.ct.gov/doag/cwp/view.asp?a=3260&q=400380&doagNav=|.

6. The old term for managing one’s agricultural resources is "husbandry." Jared Eliott of Guilford was the first person in America to write about husbandry. He wrote a series of "Essays Upon Field Husbandry" beginning in 1748.