New Jersey is known as the Garden State for a reason. We have a rich history of agriculture and, even today, agriculture is our third largest industry. We’ve got nearly 10,000 farms, over 700,000 acres of farmland and are top national producers of everything from cranberries to cabbage. And, of course, the blueberry was first cultivated right here in Hammonton. A vital part of our present, let’s look back at farms of the past.
- This photo was snapped around a century ago in Southampton Township.
Flickr/Richard
- Bergen County before all the malls. Photo taken over Fair Lawn in 1935.
Photogrammar/Carl Mydans
- Crop dusting over Seabrook Farms near Vineland circa 1938.
Photogrammar/Edwin Rosskam
- Cherry pickers on a Millville farm. Cherries were harvested by local men, women, and children.
Photogrammar/Dorathea Lange
- Carrot pickers near Camden in the mid-1930s. Women used to travel in from Philadelphia to work on Jersey farms.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
- A makeshift farmhouse in Burlington County.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
7, A bit under-dressed for the weather, but overdressed for the occasion. Farm on Camp Dix snapped around 1918.
Flickr/Richard
- 1930s farm equipment. A mechanical potato picker in Monmouth County.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
- Daniel Shoemaker Farm, Mountain Road, Wallpack Center, Sussex County
Wikipedia/National Park Service
- This Burlington County farm building was used to store ice and frozen goods circa 1936.
Wikipedia/Library Of Congress
- Apparently, “Watermelon Parties” were a thing in 1900. Photo taken on a farm in Woodbine.
Wikipedia/Center For Jewish History
- A corn crib at Knight Farm along Old Mine Road in Sussex County circa the 1930s.
Wikipedia/Library Of Congress
- The potato farm pictured is located in Hightstown and was one of the state’s top producing farms in 1936. The potatoes even pulled in some awards.
Photogrammar/Dorathea Lange
- Packing and sorting houses in Whitesbog circa 1938.
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
It’s so interesting to see how farm equipment has changed, but the photo of Bergen County really blows my mind. For some modern day shots of the Garden State, check out these beautiful barns in New Jersey.
Flickr/Richard
Photogrammar/Carl Mydans
Photogrammar/Edwin Rosskam
Photogrammar/Dorathea Lange
Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
Wikipedia/National Park Service
Wikipedia/Library Of Congress
Wikipedia/Center For Jewish History
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