John Hartwell Cocke II (1780 - 1866) was something of an agricultural pioneer in his own time. Even though Cocke II employed an overseer to manage day to day operations on his land, he was deeply involved in farm planning and planting strategies. His search for the best plants for winter fodder, summer grazing and erosion control of slopes led to collaboration and correspondence with many of his contemporary Planters and culminated in his being elected President of the United Agricultural Society of Virginia in 1820. Interestingly, archaeological excavation of Mount Pleasant’s kitchen gardens in 2000 discovered that some beds were long and narrow, reminiscent of modern, market gardens. An oddity for a time when most kitchen gardens were still organized in symmetrical grids of square beds, this has led some to believe he may have been among the earliest Americans to adopt elements of the “French Garden System.” Cocke II further cemented his legacy of marching to his own agricultural drum by becoming one of the first Planters to campaign against tobacco. Operating under the belief that it was bad for ones’ health and too hard on the soil, he moved his plantations away from the cultivation of tobacco before market forces and fertility issues led others to do so. |