NEWS
New Replica Plow Constructed
In the mid-1760s, George Washington sought to improve his farm in a variety of ways, and this included purchasing the best plow of the era. Known as the Rotherham plow, it was developed around 1730 in Rotherham, Yorkshire, England. Writing in March of 1765 to one of his English merchant suppliers, Crosbies and Trafford in Liverpool, Washington said:
“I should be obliged to you for sending me one of the Rotherham (or Patent Plows)…you would do me a singular favour in getting it from a place of that name in Yorkshire…for none but the true sort will answer the end of my sending for it & I had rather be at the expence of the Carriage from thence than not have the right kind or be disappointed. You will please to order it to be made exceeding light as our Lands are not so stiff as your’s nor our Horses so strong.”
Records indicate that this plow did indeed answer the needs at Mount Vernon. In the following years, Washington would experiment with other plows and even design some himself.
In 2006, the Historic Trades department collaborated with Colonial Williamsburg master wheelwright John Boag and master blacksmith Ken Schwarz to construct the Rotherham plow currently displayed in the Education Center. This year, to add more authenticity and accuracy to the work done at the farm, Mount Vernon once again enlisted Boag’s and Schwarz’s help.
Boag did all the wood construction of the plow. Mount Vernon blacksmiths Nicholas Kimball and Mark Kelly traveled to Williamsburg to work with Schwarz, and get guidance on forging all the ironwork required for the plow. The work was completed in Mount Vernon’s blacksmith shop. The final product was a fruitful collaboration between trades departments both rooted in the history of Virginia craftsmanship and agriculture.
The plow now heads to the farm, where it will aid interpretation and demonstrations of Washington’s efforts to improve the cultivation, work, and yields on his farms at Mount Vernon.
The replica of the Rotherham plow was funded in honor of Dr. Bruce A. Ragsdale, a member of the 2014–15 class of research fellows at the Washington Library and the 2016 Mount Vernon Georgian Papers fellow. Ragsdale’s research explores George Washington’s agricultural management.
