The Thomas Lincoln farm

[AussieMick]

The farm on which Abraham Lincoln was born was just over 348 acres (according to Harry E. Pratt (The Personal Finances of Abraham Lincoln). I know that surveying wasnt too accurate so that '348' might be an estimate. But it was obviously quite large. Pratt also says Lincoln had another farm at the same time.

It would be interesting to know what crops (if any) would have been grown on a typical Kentucky farm in 1809. I've read there were some livestock. Pigs and chickens I assume. And of course a cow or two (resulting in Nancy's death from milk fever). Any beef cattle? Sheep?

I've also read that Thomas Lincoln was a carpenter ... l'm assuming that this would not have been a full time job.

I had a small hobby farm (as they're called here) of 22 acres and maintaining that took every weekend and most evenings. I assume that Lincoln's farm wouldnt have been fenced (in any real sense ... so livestock in any numbers wouldnt have been realistic ... I guess?)

Any comments/guesses about the Lincoln farm would be good.

[Gene C]

Much of the acreage was not productive to high yield farming.
Thomas was a good carpenter, but being in a rural area, not much call for his services.

Corn was one of the main crops.
Beans, squash, and various veggies.

[AussieMick]

Much of the acreage was not productive to high yield farming.
Thomas was a good carpenter, but being in a rural area, not much call for his services.

Corn was one of the main crops.
Beans, squash, and various veggies.

thanks, Gene (and for the translation to Aussie ... 'veggies' ... wherever possible cut the ending off plural nouns and use '...ies')

[RJNorton]

I second Gene - Thomas Lincoln was a good carpenter.

[L Verge]

No record of tobacco, I suspect, even though Kentucky was a tobacco state. However, the Lincolns could not afford the slave labor to grow such a labor-intensive crop.

[Rob Wick]

In a book, Lincoln, Land, and Labor, 1809-1860, originally written in France in 1988 and translated to English in 1994, French historian Oliver Fraysse discusses how land and property reflected and shaped Lincoln's worldview. Fraysse writes of the Sinking Springs Farm:

Thomas Lincoln was disappointed very quickly by his first experience as an independent farmer. The land at Nolin Creek was not fertile, situated as it was on the borders of the barrens described by Francois Andre Michaux. This expanse of sixty thousand square miles was so called because of the lack of water and trees, both of which the pioneers deemed indispensable for agriculture. Grass grew tall, reaching two to three feet in height, and Virginia creeper was abundant. Trees had disappeared because of the Indian custom of burning vegetation in March and April to provide pasture for the buffalo. Water was to be found in great abundance, but under the surface of the soil in the labyrinth of caves and subterranean galleries that make this area of limestone subsoils typical of a karstic region. Sinking Spring Farm owed its name to a geological feature often associated with such landscapes, water spouting up from the soil only to vanish into it immediately.
These characteristics explain the low population in this part of the Pennyrile region where only corn was grown, a decided drawback for subsistence agriculture. Lack of communications and absence of neighbors and of scenery gave the word barren its true meaning. (pg. 7)

There was tobacco grown on the farm, although it appears to have been when the Lincoln Farm Association owned the property at the turn of the 20th century. Here is a photo of the crop being grown.



This is a picture of the farm in 1895



Because of the poor conditions, Thomas Lincoln moved his family to the Knob Creek farm, which Fraysse notes "At the foot of this hill (Mulder Hill), which at Knob Creek rises to 150 feet, the farm was located. The shaley soil was of good qality and, in addition to corn, also produced clover and alfalfa. The terrain was hilly, 'knotty and knobby,' and cedars grew on the largest knobs." (pg. 8)

This is a picture of the Knob Creek Farm that I took on a visit there.



Hope this helps.

Best
Rob

[AussieMick]

Thanks very much, Rob. And everyone.
Fascinating to see and read. It was obviously a tough and hand-to-mouth existence. I've always accepted the simple, and true, idea that Lincoln was born in a log cabin. But that implies that there was nothing else. Obviously the 'what else' that there was did not consist of much. But you've managed to visualize for me a picture of the living conditions. They were much like the vast bulk of of the others living in farmland US, I guess.

Having said that, it still boggles the mind that someone could raise themselves up and educate themself to the extent that Lincoln did. Not only that, but to be able to build networks, lead & manage and strategise, and inspire other people to place their trust in him the way that Lincoln did ... incredible.

I've been on leadership, speech-giving, networking, and management courses and read the usual 'self-help' books. Some of them quite good. But it makes you wonder what Lincoln would have been like if he'd been sent on a Management Course!