Porter Farm


The Porter Farm, also known as Walter C. Porter Farm, is a historic farm property near Terrell in Kaufman County in the U.S. state of Texas. It was the site of the first cooperative farm demonstration, organized by Dr. Seaman A. Knapp in 1903. The project successfully demonstrated methods expanding crop production. From this foundation project developed the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Extension Service. The property was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Knapp worked with Walter Porter to set aside of the farm, on which the experimental use of fertilizers on some plots and rotation with nitrogen-fixing legumes doubled normal yields of cotton. Porter had been selected by the community to participate in the project, with $1000 set aside to cover potential losses. Porter profited from the experiment, and the money was unused. The success of this project led to the creation of government Extension Service programs, which went on to develop methods to combat boll weevil infestation in the area.
The Porter Farm is located about north of Terrell, on FM986. The total farm property was historically about. The property includes the Porter homestead, a 1-1/2 story Cape style frame house located on the southeast side of FM986, while the demonstration land is mainly on the northwest side. There is now a tomato barn standing on that land, which is not historically significant.