Pioneer farm families settled in Christian County and passed their farms down through generations to cultivate and care for its rich farmland. When the first settlers came to the area, they recognized the black fertile soil but were unsure it could be farmed because the land was covered in tall prairie grass and was very wet. Those determined to drain the land with ditches and field tile found that it would become a great corn farming area. With the invention of the moleboard plow, the tall prairie grass was turned under, revealing rich black soil that became the foundation for growing corn and soybeans in Christian County, Illinois.