Agriculture: The Backbone of Progress during 100 Year History
By E.A. Spacek, County Agent, Wood County It is believed that Ed Spacek wrote this article around 1947 or 1948. He served as Wood County Extension Agent until about 1970 after 20 years in that position. He passed away in January, 2001. Mr. Spacek’s daughter is the well-known actress and film star, Sissie Spacek, who grew up in Quitman.
If it were possible to turn back the pages of history 100 years and look at how far Wood County agriculture has come during the past century – it would become apparent that tilling the soil, the historical backbone of Wood County’s agricultural history, has kept pace with other growth and development in this area.
Back in the mid-nineteenth century, it was a live-at-home program that was strictly followed by the early settlers. Their small, widely scattered farms dotted the heavily timbered landscape.
An occasional trip to town was made, powered by horse, mule or oxen, for the few staples that couldn’t be produced at home on the land. Most families had only five or six acres which grew crops. The hand-axe and back-breaking labor cleared the timber to make these small fields possible.
Some farmers grew their own wheat – just a small patch – enough to provide for their own needs. The wheat was harvested by hand with a “grain cradle”, a type of scythe, and later taken to a “horse thresher” to separate the chaff from the grain. It was a dark-colored flour which resulted after the wheat was milled.
According to W.A. (Bill) Morrison of Quitman, it was along in 1874 or 1975 that the old water-powered Gillispie flour mill was established in Big Sandy – just below where the D.B. Clonts home is now located. Mr. Morrison, who was born on a farm about three miles southwest of Pine Mills in 1865, said one of the earliest horse threshers he remembers was the one owned by J.K.P. Davis located just north of Pine Mills.
Farm machinery 75 years ago consisted mainly of plows which were usually horse or mule drawn. The double plow was quite popular. It consisted of twin teams. Another item found on most farms as standard equipment was the old Georgia Stock and No. 1 Kelly plow. There were no “riding” implements back in those days, so the farmer was forced to follow the workstock up and down the fields as best he could. Since no mechanical planters had yet made their appearance, all seeds had to be hand planted – including cotton and corn, the principal crops of the day.
There were few improved cattle of any type in Wood County prior to 1900. According to Mr. Morrison, good dairy cows were especially scarce and it was necessary for each family to milk three or four to get an adequate supply. Cattle were fed no balanced rations and a lack of haying equipment prevented the putting up of hay.
The only roughage used was corn fodder and oats. Both of these were fed to the cattle and workstock.
Sam Binford, another old-timer, who lives in the Mt. Enterprise community, recalls that cattle in Wood County before 1900 were scrubs of the “rough and tumble” variety. Mr. Binford, who has one of the outstanding pecan groves in East Texas, moved to Wood County some 54 years ago.
His observation on how farmers raised their hogs around the turn of the century is indeed interesting. “There were no fences to speak of, so the swine more or less roamed the countryside.” For purposes of identification – which was especially important at the killing season – each farmer had his system of ear marking. Markings on the hogs that were of the razorback type, included “underbits,” “crops” and “splits,” “swallow fork,” and “table fork,” among many others. Usually the hogs ate what they could find in the bottoms and then finished on corn fodder for a short time before slaughter.
One of the first men to own improved livestock in Wood County, among others, was A.B. Maclin who brought in Jersey milk cows and Berkshire hogs. Horses outnumbered mules about two to one around 1900. While some oxen were used on a few farms, their work was mostly confined to pulling saw longs.
In the early years of this past century, gardens played a much more important part than they do know in furnishing a large share of the family food supply. It wasn’t until about 1885, however, that a few farm wives began using glass jars in canning fruit and vegetables for the winter months. Most gardens, like many fields, were enclosed by the only kind of fencing available – the rail – made by splitting pine logs, or sometimes, red oak.
Farmers did not worry much about chickens. Each family ordinarily had a small flock of 15 to 20 hens that amply supplied home needs for eggs. Fryers were raised each spring. Fried chicken seemed just as popular in those days as it is today.
Part II of Mr. Spacek’s comments on early county agriculture will appear in the next edition of The Gazette.
