Porter Farm

Walter C. Porter Farm

Old farm house at Porter Farm
Porter Farm
Nearest city Terrell, Texas
Coordinates 32°46′40″N 96°16′28″W / 32.77778°N 96.27444°W / 32.77778; -96.27444Coordinates: 32°46′40″N 96°16′28″W / 32.77778°N 96.27444°W / 32.77778; -96.27444
Area 70 acres (28 ha)
Built 1903 (1903)
Architect Unknown
Architectural style No Style Listed
NRHP Reference # 66000819
Significant dates
Added to NRHP October 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHL July 19, 1964[2]
Westward view of tomato barn on south side of demonstration plat at Porter Farm

The Porter Farm, also known as Walter C. Porter Farm, near Terrell in Kaufman County in the U.S. state of Texas was the site of the first cooperative farm demonstration, organized by Dr. Seaman A. Knapp in 1903. The project successfully demonstrated methods expanding crop production. From this foundation project developed the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Extension Service.

Knapp worked with Walter Porter to set aside 70 acres (28 ha) of the farm, on which the experimental use of fertilizers on some plots and rotation with nitrogen-fixing legumes doubled normal yields of cotton. Porter had been selected by the community to participate in the project, with $1000 set aside to cover potential losses. Porter profited from the experiment, and the money was unused. The success of this project led to the Extension Service programs, which went on to develop methods to combat boll weevil infestation in the area.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Porter Farm". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  3. ↑ Mendinghall, Joseph Scott. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Porter Farm" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Walter C. Porter Farm.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/26/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.