Young Farm
National Register Listing
Street Address:
W of Florence on US 76, Florence, SC City Vicinity (Florence County)
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817721019
Description and Narrative:
The Young Farm is a collection of buildings associated with the dairy farm of Fred H. Young. The farm is significant for its association with Young’s achievements in the field of agriculture. The complex consists of a two-story frame main residence and a collection of outbuildings including a dairy barn, truck shed, cow shed and silos. Fred H. Young, a farmer and partner in Young’s Pedigreed Seed Farms, first won regard throughout the South for his high-grade cottonseed. When the boll weevil drastically reduced cotton production, Young decided to expand into dairy farming, and about 1916 he began his herd with the purchase of Belle de Sarah, a registered Jersey. He slowly and steadily increased his herd and in 1923 decided to begin scientifically testing the yields of his cattle. Belle de Sarah was his first test cow and in her first test year produced 858.10 pounds of butterfat and 16,373 pounds of milk, making her the highest record cow in the South and the first southern cow to win the American Jersey Cattle Club medal of Merit. Young’s continued success was cited as proof that dairy farming was well suited to South Carolina. Herbert Hoover, then secretary of commerce, visited the Young farm while in Florence in 1925 and expressed his belief that South Carolina held great potential for dairy farming. Young’s farm was seen as a model operation and his modest beginnings and low cost operation were recommended for emulation among aspiring dairy farmers. Demolished in 2024. Listed in the National Register November 10, 1983.
Period of Significance:
circa 1877;circa 1919
Level of Significance:
State
Area of Significance:
Agriculture
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
November 10 1983
