The 18th-Century Virginia Farm
At Claude Moore Colonial Farm, the animals were more than a charming part of the landscape. They were part of the farm’s interpretation of 18th-century agricultural life. The heritage animals at Claude Moore Colonial Farm helped visitors consider how livestock, farming practices, and household economies shaped daily life in the colonial Chesapeake.
Claude Moore Colonial Farm (National Park Service’s Turkey Run Park in McLean, Virginia) was a living history farm dedicated to portraying the everyday life of tenant farmers around 1771. It operated from 1973 to 2018. To portray colonial farm life, the farm offered hands-on experiences centered on historic farming, homesteading, and farm animals. You can see more of my favorite photos of the farm and its interpreters in this blog post.
Heritage Livestock and Native Species
The farm raised heritage-breed livestock, preserving breeds with historical ties to the animals kept by earlier generations of farmers. Unlike modern commercial breeds, heritage breeds often retain characteristics that made them useful in earlier agricultural systems. These include hardiness, foraging ability, and suitability for small-scale farming.
In 2018, the farm kept a variety of heritage-breed chickens, Bronze turkeys, Red Devon cows, and Ossabaw hogs. In years past, it maintained a horse and flocks of geese and sheep.
Redefining “Living History”
Seeing these animals in a working historic landscape also adds context that objects and buildings alone can’t convey. Livestock required food, shelter, care, breeding, and labor. Their presence connects the farm’s gardens, fields, barns, kitchens, and households into a larger story about work and survival.
For photographers and history enthusiasts, the animals also offer an opportunity to examine the material and sensory details of a historic farm. A heritage breed standing in an 18th-century-inspired landscape can become a starting point for thinking about agriculture, labor, technology, and the people whose work sustained these communities.
