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Thursday, April 2, 2015

Cyrus McCormick Farm–Field Trip

On a particularly beautiful April day we went on a little road trip.  We were heading to Lexington, Virginia but stopped just short of our final destination to visit the Cyrus McCormick Farm.

In case you don’t know about Cyrus McCormick, I’ll educate you slightly.  At the age of 22, he invented the mechanical harvester/reaper (the predecessor of today’s combine).     Below are photos of a model of the original reaper (one from the front, one from the rear.)

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McCormick wen ton to improve and change his product over the years.   There is a lovely glass display case with miniature models of some of Cyrus’ updated reaper models.

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The view from outside the mill is lovely.  We toured the inside and got a better understanding of how the water wheel made the mill work.

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We also toured the house and part of the rest of the farm, which is now part of Virginia Tech.   We found a lovely nature trail and took more photos than I can dare to post, but here are a few of my favorites.

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The tree below looks very normal in this photo.  In person however, you’ll notice lots of holes up and down the trunk with bees flying in and out.   It was very Winnie the Pooh-ish, and even had a warning sign.

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If you’re ever traveling on I-81 through Virginia, stop off at Exit 205 and check out the farm and walking trail.   It’ll be much nicer than any of the rest stops along the highway.

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