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Cyrus McCormick Farm

McCormick Farm and Workshop
Cyrus McCormick Farm - view from north in afternoon July 2012.JPG
Grist mill (left) and blacksmith shop (right)
Cyrus McCormick Farm is located in Virginia
Cyrus McCormick Farm
Cyrus McCormick Farm is located in the US
Cyrus McCormick Farm
Location S of Staunton on U.S. 11 and Raphine Road at Walnut Grove, Steele's Tavern, Virginia
Coordinates 37°56′2″N 79°13′4″W / 37.93389°N 79.21778°W / 37.93389; -79.21778Coordinates: 37°56′2″N 79°13′4″W / 37.93389°N 79.21778°W / 37.93389; -79.21778
Area 644 acres (261 ha)
Built 1809
NRHP Reference # 66000846
VLR # 081-0073
Significant dates
Added to NRHP October 15, 1966
Designated NHLD July 19, 1964
Designated VLR September 9, 1969

The Cyrus McCormick Farm and Workshop is on the family farm of inventor Cyrus Hall McCormick known as Walnut Grove. Cyrus Hall McCormick improved and patented the mechanical reaper, which eventually led to the creation of the combine harvester. The farm is near Steele's Tavern and Raphine, close to the northern border of Rockbridge and Augusta counties in the U.S. state of Virginia, and is currently a museum run by the Virginia Agricultural Experimental Station of Virginia Tech. The museum with free admission and covers 5 acres (2.0 ha) of the initial 532-acre (215.3 ha) farm.

The farm originally covered 532 acres with buildings centered on a scant 5 acres. On the farm eight out of the nine original buildings are still standing, many of which have been renovated since the farm was created in 1822 by Robert McCormick (1780–1846). The eight existing buildings include a grist mill, blacksmith shop, slave quarters, carriage house, manor house, smoke house, schoolroom, and housekeeper's quarters . In the original construction of the farm there was also an ice house which was demolished in the 1960s. Each of these different buildings played a specific role in the daily routine of the Cyrus McCormick farm. The grist mill, built prior to 1800, was used to grind wheat for flour. The blacksmith shop was used to build and repair all the farm implements needed by the McCormick family and was where Cyrus McCormick engineered his reaper. Slave quarters served as the home for the nine slaves that the McCormick family owned. Furthermore, the carriage house was used as a garage for the carriages and other wheeled vehicles. The manor house is centrally located on the farm and was constructed of brick in 1822, making it the first building on the McCormick farm. Behind the brick manor house was the smoke house where meat was dried and smoked to preserve it through the winter. Refrigeration was not introduced until the late 19th century. The McCormick family also maintained a school on their property for neighboring children.


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