AGRICULTURE
To succeed in early Upper Canada, pioneer farmers needed practical agricultural knowledge, a willingness to endure hardship, and a deep attachment to the land. Many of Colchester Township’s earliest settlers—particularly German-speaking Plain Folk from New York State and Pennsylvania—brought with them well-established methods of cultivation and animal husbandry. They also drew upon Indigenous knowledge of local plants and agricultural practices, adapting Old World traditions to a new landscape.
WORKING BEES IN RURAL HISTORY
In the early settlement period, labour was often scarce and time-sensitive farm work could not be completed by one household alone. To meet these demands, neighbours gathered for “bees”—cooperative work gatherings in which families assisted one another with major tasks. Bees were a practical response to labour shortages, but they also became an established rural custom, governed by shared expectations and traditions.
Most commonly, bees were held for threshing grain, but they also took place for sawing timber, cutting firewood, slaughtering and butchering livestock, filling silos, and raising barns. Men generally carried out the heavy outdoor labour, while women prepared substantial meals throughout the day—an essential and much-anticipated part of the occasion. These gatherings blended work with sociability, reinforcing bonds within the farming community.
Although the photograph shown here depicts a later example, the practice itself has deep roots in early Upper Canada and remained common well into the nineteenth century. By the early twentieth century, as farm machinery became more widely available, bees gradually declined. Cooperative labour did not disappear, however; it evolved. Farmers continued to work together by sharing specialized equipment and labour for tasks too large for one operation to manage alone.
Historian Catharine Anne Wilson explores the social world of working bees in her book Being Neighbours, based on diaries kept by more than 100 Southern Ontario farmers between 1830 and 1960. These firsthand accounts reveal not only cooperation, but also the subtle obligations, expectations, and negotiations that shaped rural life. Being Neighbours is available for consultation at the HEIRS research library.
(Catharine Anne Wilson, FRSC, is the Francis and Ruth Redelmeier Professor of Rural History at the University of Guelph and founder of the Rural Diary Archive.)
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES
From the earliest years of Upper Canada, government offi cials and settlers alike recognized that agriculture would determine the colony’s success. In 1791, Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe encouraged the formation of agricultural societies as a means for farmers to share practical knowledge, improve production, and communicate local concerns to colonial authorities. These societies promoted better farming practices through discussion, experimentation, and public exhibitions of crops, livestock, and domestic manufactures—activities that later evolved into county fairs.
In Colchester Township, however, early eff orts to organize such a society were slow to take root. The region’s unsettled political climate, culminating in the Rebellion of 1838, delayed the formation of formal organizations where farmers could regularly meet to exchange ideas and advocate for their needs.
Progress came in the mid-1840s. On May 4, 1844, local farmers gathered at Quick’s School House, where they formed an auxiliary agricultural society. This organization provided a structured forum for cooperation and improvement, refl ecting both local initiative and broader provincial reform. In 1850, the group was formally reorganized as the Colchester Agricultural Society.
The Society’s most visible public expression followed soon after. In 1854, it sponsored the fi rst Harrow Fair, establishing a tradition that celebrated agricultural achievement while reinforcing the social and economic importance of farming in the township.
FARMERS’ CO-OPERATIVE
By the early twentieth century, cooperation among farmers extended beyond shared labour to collective marketing and purchasing. In 1919, forty-four local farmers joined together to form the Harrow Farmers’ Co-operative Association, an organization intended to strengthen their economic position in an increasingly commercial agricultural system.
The association’s officers included President T. R. Brush, along with Albert Klie, S. O. Hood, Ed Heaton, and Harry Pigeon. Soon after its formation, the co-op constructed a two-storey warehouse north of the Pere Marquette railway station, where it stored supplies and received carloads of feed and other farm products. Proximity to the rail line was essential, allowing members to buy in bulk and distribute goods efficiently.
What made the Harrow Farmers’ Co-operative especially distinctive was its financial structure. Rather than being capitalized in the conventional way, the association was founded on the promissory notes of its members, with support from P. T. Clark, manager of the Imperial Bank in Harrow. It was reportedly the only co-operative in Ontario at the time to operate without formal capitalization, relying instead on mutual trust and shared responsibility.
The Harrow Farmers’ Co-operative reflected along local tradition of collaboration—one that evolved from early working bees into organized institutions designed to help farmers adapt to modern markets while retaining control over their livelihoods.
CROPS
Local crops included apples, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, grapes, melons, peaches, plums, pears, quince, asparagus, beans, cucumbers, peppers, potatoes, sweet corn, tomatoes, flowers, soybeans, sugar beets and tobacco.
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
From the earliest years of settlement, farmers in Colchester Township understood that successful agriculture depended as much on livestock as on crops. Careful breeding and proper animal care were essential for providing food, labour, and income. Horses powered transportation and farm work; cattle supplied milk, meat, and hides; sheep provided wool; hogs were a reliable source of meat; and poultry contributed both eggs and table fare.
Knowledge of animal husbandry was shared through agricultural societies and farmers’ institutes, where settlers exchanged information on breeding, feeding, housing, and disease prevention. These gatherings helped introduce improved stock and encouraged more systematic approaches to livestock management.
Public exhibitions and agricultural fairs played an important role in this process. Farmers brought their best animals to be judged, sold, and admired, using competition to promote better breeding and higher standards. Over time, these events helped raise the overall quality of livestock in the region and reinforced the central role of animal husbandry in the township’s agricultural economy.
HARROW RESEARCH STATION
The Harrow Research Station, one of Canada’s oldest agricultural experimental farms, has played a vital role in advancing sustainable farming practices since its founding in 1909. Located just east of Harrow, the station focuses on improving field crops like corn, soybeans, and winter wheat, as well as developing strategies for soil health, irrigation, and nutrient management. Scientists at the station have conducted groundbreaking research into pest control, crop resilience, and the impact of insects on yield and biodiversity. With its proximity to diverse growing conditions in Essex County, the Harrow Research Station is uniquely suited for testing and refining methods that support both productivity and environmental stewardship.
From its earliest years, the station built strong connections with Essex County farmers, off ering advice and demonstrations on seed varieties, cultivation practices, and soil conservation. The region’s tomato growers especially benefi ted from Harrow’s innovations in breeding and disease control, which strengthened southwestern Ontario’s reputation as a hub of vegetable production.
Today, the station also supports robust horticulture and greenhouse programs, with a special emphasis on tomatoes and other vegetable crops. A key feature of the site is the Canadian Clonal Genebank, which preserves a wide variety of fruit tree specimens to protect and study genetic diversity. Researchers at Harrow have also collaborated nationally and internationally, with findings infl uencing farming methods across Canada and beyond.
Among the station’s most notable early directors were Herbert Murwin and Ward Koch, respected scientists known for innovations in tobacco growing and plant pathology. Over the decades, countless researchers have followed in their footsteps, building a tradition of scientific excellence.
Describe your image
Harrow Research and Development Centre
Building on the Past. Growing into the Future.