Tools & tillage: a journal on the history of the implements of cultivation and other agricultural processes (6.1988/1991)

Fig. 1. The Bennett Farm plowshare, 1670-1690. W. R. photo. □ Die Bennett Farm - Pflugschar, 1670-
1690.

PRELIMINARY REPORT ON
AN EARLY AMERICAN PLOWSHARE

By
Wayne Randolph

No 17th century American plows have survi-
ved, and few reputed to be of 18th century
origin possess sound documentation. While
plow names can be traced through the written
record, only limited and incomplete written
and iconographic descriptions have been
found. Because hoe/hill cropping dominated
American maize agriculture through the 17th
century, and later in the southern tobacco co-

lonies, plows were relatively rare since Euro-
pean methods of soil preparation were not
the norm.
Only scattered references to plows appear
in estate inventories and other records before
the mid-18th century. Archaeological evi-
dence is therefore critical to our understan-
ding. The subject of this article was found
with twenty-six hoes.