Presidents Who Farmed

Taylor Hillman Features, This Land of Ours

Some of our country’s Founding Father’s who once farmed. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.

President’s Day

From Abraham Lincoln splitting rails for fence building — to Bill Clinton picking beans.

In honor of President’s Day, a glance back at some of the presidents who knew how to plant corn and herd cattle.
Abraham Lincoln was born into farming. His family moved around as farmers, eventually settling in Indiana. But it’s his birthplace farm, in Knob Creek Kentucky, preserved as a National Park’s Service historic site and can still be visited today.

Theodore Roosevelt, fell in love with cattle. So much so, he invested $14,000 in a herd of cattle and had the “Maltese Cross” cabin built. He later expanded his ranching operation, and built Elkhorn Ranch. Both ranches are still open to the public.

Harry S. Truman worked on the farm for 11 years, taking on the full responsibility of the farm after his father died in 1914. His mother would later say, “It was on the farm that Harry got all his common sense.”

Jimmy Carter grew up on his parents’s peanut farm in Plains, Georgia. After his father’s death in 1953, Carter took over the daily operations of the farm. During the 1954 drought, the farm made a total profit of $187. He soon was able to turn the farm around, and by his 1970 gubernatorial campaign Carter was known as a wealthy peanut farmer.

Bill Clinton – another past President – no stranger to farming, His fondest childhood memories come from time spent on his Great uncle’s farm in Arkansas where he recalled picking beans, corn, and tomatos, and pouring tubs of water into sandy soil that would sprout large watermelon. And about a year before he became President, George W. Bush – bought Prairie Chapel Ranch in Texas, which was often referred to as the “Western White House.” He still owns the ranch today.