Throughout the nineteenth century, Kentucky led the nation in hemp production, and by the 1830s Farmington was a 550-acre working hemp plantation that stood as a center of agriculture and industry. Hemp, the most labor-intensive crop grown in the state, perpetuated slavery in the Commonwealth, and John Speed owned one of the largest slave holdings in Jefferson County. Enslaved men planted hemp seed and processed the harvested crop into rope and bagging, while plantation outbuildings included a hemp barn and weaving factory. Farmington's fields also produced large quantities of corn, cabbage, sugar beets, beans, peas, Irish potatoes, and Timothy hay, and Speed family letters indicate an abundance of fruit trees, including peach, cherry, plum, and apples. Enslaved African Americans Morocco and Rose sold currants, June apples, and raspberries at Louisville markets, and cider and vinegar made from apples were important commodities at Farmington.
