New Jersey has a rich farming history; we're called the Garden State, after all. We still have over 700,000 acres of farmland in New Jersey, and are a national top producer of blueberries, cranberries, spinach, bell pepper, peaches and more. In our agricultural heyday, most of the state was farmland. Each farm was unique and helped to provide food for New Jersey and the surrounding states. For a glimpse of farm life over 70 years ago, read on.
1. This Burlington County farmer is on his way to take cranberries to the market.
2. A unique barn-house in Franklin Township.
3. A mechanical potato picker in Monmouth County.
4. The Radburn section of Fair Lawn still had some farmland left in 1935.
5. A packing and sorting house at a Burlington County farm.
6. Like many farms at the time, this Burlington County farm employed migrant workers seasonally.
7. Men and women work side by side, manually picking cranberries in Burlington County.
8. Potatoes being loaded on a truck in Monmouth County circa 1938.
9. An outdoor stove used by farm workers.
10. Cherry pickers on a Millville farm. Cherries were harvested by local men, women, and children.
11. A makeshift garden on empty farmland in Glassboro.
12. Spraying apple orchards in Hightstown by truck.
13. And dusting by plane at Seabrook Farms near Vineland.
14. Carrot pickers in Camden County.
15. A sub-marginal farmhouse in Burlington County.
16. Farm equipment has come a long way since 1935. A mechanical potato picker in Monmouth County is seen here.
17. One of the best potato farms in the state at the time, located in Mercer County. Their potatoes were award winning in three categories!
These rare photos are available through the Yale photogrammar project which helped to sort thousands of images taken by the Farm Security Administration between 1935-1945. Which of the pictures most intrigues you? Do you have a favorite New Jersey Farm?
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