The Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture is the oldest agricultural society in the United States

Organized in 1785, it has played key roles in developing many of the farming methods and institutions
responsible for the abundance that is the hallmark of our modern food system. The Society was founded by twenty-three of the leading merchants, businessmen and land-owners in the
Philadelphia area, four of whom were signers of the Declaration of Independence.

While the wealth and prosperity of the country was dependent on agriculture, the founders realized that poor farming practices were already eroding soil fertility.

Practices now commonplace – such as crop rotation and management of soil fertility – have their roots
in the robust dialogue and exploration of change that have marked the Society’s meetings and publication activities from its origins to the present day

This became the Society’s mission—to discover and disseminate the best methods of scientific farming practice.

As the American colonies of England were in the midst of declaring their political, security, and social
independents in the late 18th century, the people of the new United States were working out their
connection to the largest industry in the new nation: agriculture.

This exposition explores the way a then-new organization founded in 1785, the Philadelphia Society for
Promoting Agriculture, became a critical part of the “research and development” function of this
industry, setting the stage for growth in food production in the United States that would feed the world.

Topics include…

John Bartram
Richard Peters
George Morgan
William Bartram
Samuel Powel
Carpenters’ Hall
Humphry Marshall
Charles Thomson*
Market Street Bridge
Conestoga Wagon
Hessian Fly
Benjamin Franklin*
Benjamin Rush*
Samuel Meredith
George Clymer*
Timothy Pickering
Thomas Jefferson*
Robert Morris*
John Beale Bordley

*Signer of Declaration