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Farm museums bring history, innovations and legacies to life

Several museums in Virginia illustrate the history and methods of farming in the state. A news release from the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation highlights these institutions.

In Surry, Chippokes State Park is one of the oldest continuously farmed properties in the country. From Native American techniques to present-day practices, the Chippokes Farm & Forestry Museum in the park uses over 3,000 artifacts to interpret the evolution of rural Virginia life over the past 400 years.

The museum is situated on 1,947-acre historic Chippokes site.

The park features historical exhibits including the 1854 Jones-Stewart Mansion, the ca. 1830 River House and Walnut Valley Farm’s 18th century plantation house. The 500-acre farm and cultural garden produce popular Virginia cash crops historically grown on the site.

At McCormick Farm in Rockbridge County, visitors can stand in the spot where the first horse-drawn “Virginia Reaper” was designed and built. Cyrus McCormick is credited wit...

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