The Working Farm

White Haven was typical of large farms in the area during the mid-1800s, but as times changed its operation changed in labor, equipment, and methods, and its two owners, Colonel Dent and Ulysses Grant, developed the farm according to their different interests. Before the Civil War, enslaved people worked the farm, with Charles, Bob, Willis, William, and Jim doing the daily tasks, while additional free and enslaved men from neighboring farms were hired during peak planting and harvesting times; after slavery ended, all laborers at White Haven received wages. The introduction of mechanized farm equipment in the late 1830s reduced labor expenses, and White Haven became the first farm in the area to have a reaper and thresher, while choicest seeds and the latest philosophy of crop rotation enhanced production. Dent emphasized cash crops such as wheat, oats, corn, potatoes, and hay for sale in city markets, while Grant focused on grasses and clover for his horses, and both owners also raised nectarines, peaches, apples, apricots, and grapes, as well as sweet potatoes, carrots, melons, and squash for personal consumption.

Grantwood Village, Missouri · United States