Thanks, Frances. I have that book but I do not remember Coulter quoting any sources. I will have to make a house search for it. There is a marker where you can go to see the approximate location of Old Petersburg. It is puzzling to me that no one mentions sugar cane or syrup mills which would be necessary for cane syrup and brown sugar. I guess it was because they could not easily move the syrup mill and large iron kettle very easily. I have yet to see these items in any will inventory. Has anyone else? What we must remember is it took a lot of corn, oats and other grains to feed the farm animals. I am not quite sure how many bushels for each type of animal to get them through the winter. During the time before 1810 I do not believe they knew about crop rotation or if they knew to plant rye and other grains for the winter as a cover crops to protect and nourish their soil and for their animals to eat. Betty in ga -----Original Message----- From: galincol-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:galincol-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Chris Johnson Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 11:18 AM To: galincol@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [GALINCOL] agriculture question Betty, In an appraisal of one of my ancestor's estates in Lincoln County, I found cotton and flax spinning wheels so we know these things were produced in Lincoln County. Petersburg (now a dead town and under the Clarks Hill reservoir and just across the river from Lincoln County) and Augusta, Georgia were towns that boosted large tobacco warehouses so we know for certain tobacco was a major crop in the 1700s and early 1800s in the "up country". The following was published in "Old Petersburg and the Broad River Valley of Georgia" by Ellis Merton Coulter concerning crops grown along the Savannah and Broad Rivers in the late 1700s and early to mid 1800s: "Cotton and tobacco were the so-called 'money crops', but, of course, agriculture was not limited to them alone. There was, at least, one other 'money crop', which was early tried in the Petersburg-Augusta region, and raised with some little success for a short time--indigo. In 1787 Thomas Cole announced that he had indigo seed for sale, saved from last year's crop; and those planters who knew how to grow it now and then published information on the subject. Many of the planters around Petersburg raised flax in small quantities, which could be spun into 'beautiful sewing thread' and also be made into ropes and bed cords, some of which were manufactured in Petersburg. There was, of course, small grain raised for food and feed--wheat, rye, buckwheat, corn, and barley, for which there was a market in Petersburg and in Augusta. And practically everyone had a kitchen garden to produce everything expected from such a place, and often extensive enough to provide Irish potatoes and especially the delectable sweet potatoes. There were fewer fruit orchards than gardens; however, anyone growing more peaches and horse apples than needed for home use could find a ready market in Petersburg and in the down-river markets at Augusta." "Next to cotton and tobacco in importance was corn, a crop which was basic for home food and feed for livestock, and for which there was always a local market for surpluses. I hope this helps answer your question. Although Petersburg was in Elbert County, I feel sure the same crops were grown in Lincoln County just across the river. Crops were transported from Petersburg to Augusta via the Savannah River. Frances -----Original Message----- From: galincol-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:galincol-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Betty Bivins Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 9:47 AM To: galincol@rootsweb.com Subject: [GALINCOL] agriculture question One question: If any of you have old wills, letters, or inventories prior to 1810 that speak or list any type of crop, would you please post that crop to the list? If anyone out there has ANY information about what crops they grew in Lincoln Co. prior to 1810, I would appreciate you posting this info to this list. It would probably be in a will or some type of business inventory or letter. I have not been able to find anything definitive about the type of crops they grew, especially over on the Savannah River. If you have not been to Lincoln County, the branches are very close to each other which makes the fields closer to each other and also smaller than the fields further west where they grew a lot of cotton. Yes, they grow cotton in the Mississippi delta but they lose them some years, like in 2009, if there is too much rain. And those fields are much larger than in Lincoln. In the past two hundred years it is likely that the water table has dropped therefore more of those small fields could have been used to grow sugar cane. And that is another reason I do not believe they grew that much cotton-cotton does not like a lot of moisture. One would assume they grew a lot of tobacco but tobacco fields do not need to be too moist either. Indigo and rice were grown further south down the river but the flat land there could be easily controlled with dykes(not the correct term) necessary for the cultivation of rice. I know nothing about growing hemp which might be another possibility.This part of Lincoln is now under water because of the damn they built on the Savannah River. Thank you for your time. Betty in ga If this is a Message Board gatewayed to the list, please reply to the Message Board. The poster may not be a member of this list. Please remember that this is a FREE genealogy mailing list and postings of any commercial nature are NOT permitted by RootsWeb Rules. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GALINCOL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.437 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2791 - Release Date: 04/05/10 06:32:00 If this is a Message Board gatewayed to the list, please reply to the Message Board. The poster may not be a member of this list. 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