Jim Woodworth, from the Great Meadows Conservation Trust, gave a talk on agriculture through the ages in town on Oct. 7 at Wethersfield High School. His talk was part of a series of free programs offered through Wethersfield Adult Education in honor of the town's 375th Anniversary.
Woodworth's program combined slides of historical and contemporary photographs, with facts and anecdotes covering local agriculture through the ages. The largest archeological dig in the state, near the Connecticut River in Wethersfield and Rocky Hill, has shown that Native Americans were farming here as early as 1100 AD, he said.
"They were growing the 'Three Sisters' - maize, beans and squash. In some ways the crops haven't changed, although the individual varieties have," he said.
He traced the evolution of local farming from horse power to tractor power. For a time, Wethersfield was famous for its red onions, cultivated by "onion maidens" - young women who worked to earn money for silk dresses.
Local companies like Comstock, Ferre and the Hart Seed Co. shipped dried seeds all over the world in the 19th and 20th centuries. Farms once sent truckloads of spinach and butternut squash to a cannery at the old state prison in town.
Woodworth cited a Wethersfield Post article from 1971, that showed there were 62 dairy farms in town in 1920. By the time of the article, there were just two left: Leonard Farm, ("which went away soon after that," he noted) and Wilkus Farm.
The town is now moving to purchase Wilkus Farm, with the help of a state open space grant. Woodworth said he would love to see the town lease the land to someone who could keep it as a working farm, similar to Cato Corner Farm in Colchester, which produces artisan cheeses. "It's a town acquisition that could pay for itself," he said.
There's about a half dozen farms left in town today, and perhaps another half dozen in Rocky Hill. Woodworth plans to offer a field trip to visit them Saturday, Oct. 17, from 10 a.m. to noon.
The field trip is free and open to the public. To participate, meet at 10 a.m. at the Wethersfield High School pool entrance. In case of inclement weather that day, call the Adult Education office at (860) 571-8250 to find out if the trip is still on.