Advances in American agriculture lagged in the years after the Revolutionary War as a conservativeness among farmers slowed experimentation and innovation. However, some saw the value of promoting agricultural improvements and in 1781, the country’s first agricultural society was founded in New Jersey. The Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture was founded in 1792, and in 1794, Colonel Hugh Maxwell joined. He was a veteran of the French and Indian War and settled near Charlemont. During the Revolution, he was an activist and served in the Provincial Congress. In 1785, Maxwell was instrumental in leading his village to separate from Charlement to form the new town of Heath, named after his former commander in the French and Indian War.
Maxwell, Colonel Hugh. Colonel Hugh Maxwell’s Certificate of Membership into the Mass. Society for Agriculture. January 4, 1794. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l01-088/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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