The Pioneer Farm provides a period-authentic example of farming on Washington’s estate, as well as demonstrations of different farming techniques, cooking, sheep shearing, and more. It was a bit of a trek down to the farm but worth the time and effort. (A shuttle is available between the farm and the Education Center from April to October.) We watched a cooking demonstration for a short while and then wandered through the farm to the Threshing Barn.
The Threshing Barn is an invention of Washington’s – a 16 sided, 2 story barn used to separate wheat berry from the stalk. Historically, this separation was accomplished either by a laborer beating the wheat with a flail or by animals walking over the wheat to separate the grain. But when treading was done outdoors, up to 20% of a harvest could be lost to the elements or because dirt was mixed in with the wheat.
A staff member inside the barn gave a detailed account of the innovative process that Washington invented in this barn. The wood floor on the top story of the barn was laid with an inch and a half of space between each board. An acre’s worth of wheat was thrown on top of the floor and horses walked laps around the barn interior, knocking the seeds to the floor below. With a 90% success rate of trapping the stalks on the top floor, this was an extremely efficient method of separation. Additionally, the barn protected his crop from both dirt and the elements.
There was probably a little less to the Pioneer Farm than I anticipated. Given the size and scope of the rest of the property, I expected something on a grander scale. But what was there was really well done. And the barn alone was worth the walk down there. The fact that Washington invented the structure and process was really fascinating to me.