History of Agriculture

Since the founding of Oglethorpe County in 1793, farming has remained the county's primary source of employment. Similar to the rest of the Piedmont region, Oglethorpe County is an area of rolling hills and many small streams. Throughout the antebellum period, the county was recognized for its fertile soil.

Settled by colonists from the Carolinas and Virginia, Georgia's Piedmont region proved well-suited for tobacco farming. In the early years, farmers practiced agriculture on a subsistence level. Once farmers began to acquire more land and slaves, the plantation system developed rapidly. During the 1780s and 1790s, most farmers in the area were engaged in tobacco cultivation.

By the early 1800s, cotton replaced tobacco as the primary cash crop. With the introduction of the cotton gin, cotton production became more efficient and profitable. The shift from tobacco to cotton production caused an increase in the demand for slaves in Oglethorpe County. The planter class peaked in 1850 at 120 large planters, with the average planter owning 12 slaves.

Although cotton dominated the area's agriculture, farmers used crop diversification as a method to gain total self-sufficiency. Oglethorpe County was considered to be a leader in wheat production. Cereal and grain crops were important throughout the antebellum period. The County's fine bottom land also proved well-suited for the production of corn -- a locally consumed staple. Oats, barley, soybean, rye, and millet were grown in the fields along with tobacco and corn.

Except for temporary disruptions during Civil War and reconstruction years, agriculture changed very slowly in the South over the years.

The boll weevil and rain droughts helped cause the agricultural depression of the 1920s and devastated cotton production. At this time, unfavorable economic and agricultural conditions prevented farmers from making a living.

During the 1930s, the South began improving its agricultural practices. Mechanization increased, soil conservation and fertilization were implemented, and farms were becoming larger and less diversified. Cotton was soon replaced by grain, cattle, dairy, and poultry farming. Because cotton was disappearing, so were the gins and mills. Pulpwood replaced timber production which had been profitable during the Depression. During the Great Depression, many landowners began to depend on forestry for income. In Oglethorpe County, 75 percent of the land mass is classified as commercially forested land.

More recently, farmers have turned toward poultry, beef, dairy cattle, and specialty crops. Diversification in farming helps insure a more steady income.

In 1969, Oglethorpe County had 431 farms, averaging in size of 210 acres. By 1974, the number of farms declined to 365, but the average size increased to 227 acres.

The population of farming communities in Oglethorpe County began to decrease as more and more people moved to Athens and commuted to work. However, farming is now becoming a more desirable way of life, due to the greater availability of modern conveniences.