In Podcast #30 Alfonso & David visit McCormick’s Farm in Rockbridge County, Virginia.  Cyrus McCormick was the inventor of the mechanical reaper which improved farming all over the world. The reaper could harvest a bushel of wheat in 10 minutes instead of the 3 hours that it usually took a farmer to do it by hand! In 1851 the Academy of Sciences stated that he had done “more for agriculture than any other living man!” Explore the farm where Cyrus McCormick lived and made his famous invention; learn how the water-powered grist mill turned grain into flour, see a life-size replica of the reaper and find out how it worked! Come on!  Let’s go trekkin’! (Trouble viewing the YouTube video? Try Vimeo or direct link)

Cyrus McCormick grew up with one of his family slaves named Jo Anderson. They worked closely together on the reaper, and Jo helped him demonstrate it at nearby Steele’s Tavern in 1831. Cyrus set Jo free before the Civil War, but Jo continued to live on the farm. McCormick’s grandson later wrote that Jo deserved credit for his work on the reaper. (Source) (Image credit)


Here is a Google map of the McCormick Farm. Use the +/- buttons in the bottom right to zoom in or out.



This is a 360 view of the McCormick Farm. Click and drag to take a look around.



This is an old Flash activity about how a gristmill grinds grain using water power. We got it to work using Ruffle!


This is an old Flash activity about the McCormick reaper. We got it to work using Ruffle!


Social Studies

2.2 (2015) The student will demonstrate knowledge of the United States by describing important developments and innovations in United States history, including developments and innovations related to communication and transportation.


2.8 (2015) The student will describe natural resources (water, soil, wood, and coal), human resources (people at work), and capital resources (machines, tools, and buildings).


2.13 (2023) The student will apply history and social science skills to understand basic economic principles by

a. identifying natural resources (water, soil, wood, and coal), human resources (people at work), and capital resources i.e. manmade things used in production (machines, tools, computers, and buildings);


VS.2 (2015) The student will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between physical geography and the lives of the native peoples, past and present, of Virginia by

b) locating and describing Virginia’s Coastal Plain (Tidewater), Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau;


VS.1 (2023) The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the relationship between physical geography and the lives of Virginia’s peoples, past and present by

b. locating and describing the relative location and physical characteristics of Virginia's five geographic regions on a map; and


USI.8 (2023) The student will apply history and social science skills to explain westward expansion and reform in America from 1801 to 1861 by

e. explaining technological advancements and innovations on changing life in America, including but not limited to the cotton gin, the reaper, the steam engine, and steam locomotive; 1800s;


Science

1.2 (2018) The student will investigate and understand that objects can move in different ways. Key ideas include

a) objects may have straight, circular, spinning, and back-and-forth motions; and

b) objects may vibrate and produce sound.


3.2 (2018) The student will investigate and understand that the direction and size of force affects the motion of an object. Key ideas include

a) multiple forces may act on an object;

b) the net force on an object determines how an object moves;

c) simple machines increase or change the direction of a force; and

d) simple and compound machines have many applications.


4.8 (2018) The student will investigate and understand that Virginia has important natural resources. Key resources include

a) watersheds and water;

b) plants and animals;

c) minerals, rocks, and ores; and

d) forests, soil, and land.


5.9 (2018) The student will investigate and understand that the conservation of energy resources is important. Key ideas include

a) some sources of energy are considered renewable and others are not;

b) individuals and communities have means of conserving both energy and matter; and

c) advances in technology improve the ability to transfer and transform energy.