Broomcorn broom

From the collections of PVMA • Digital image © Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Assoc. • Image use information

About this item

Broomcorn grows a long seed head but doesn’t produce cobs and kernels. The crop might have first been grown in Hadley, Massachusetts, in 1773, but Levi Dickinson claimed to have been the first to grow it there in the 1790s.  The market for brooms made of broomcorn surged in the mid-1820s and by the 1860s, brooms from Hampshire and Franklin counties were being widely distributed.  After the Civil War a better quality of broomcorn from the Midwest cut into the Massachusetts industry and by the 1880s, local production was in a steep decline and had basically disappeared by 1900. The broom shown here is a modern reproduction.

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Details

Item typeHousehold Accessory
CreatorNewcomb, Herbert
Date1973
PlaceFranklin County, Massachusetts; Hampshire County, Massachusetts
TopicHome Life, Household Items, Furniture
EraThe New Nation, 1784–1815
National Expansion and Reform, 1816–1860
Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861–1877
Rise of Industrial America, 1878–1899
MaterialPlant Product; Wood
Dimension detailsLength: 57.00 in
Catalog #1985.0015
View this item in our curatorial database →
Newcomb, Herbert. Broomcorn broom. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/1985-0015/. Accessed on December 6, 2024.

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