Memories of Springfield Plantation

Elizabeth Elliott Stevens Amason recalled her childhood memories on Springfield Plantation for this book:

“This large Stevens family lived a happy and active life on Springfield Plantation for more than 50 years. They bought several adjoining tracts until the plantation encompassed about 6,000 acres.

“They raised cotton, corn, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, hay, and velvet beans on hundreds of acres of land with nine plow mules. There were many wild horses on the plantation. The family rode three to five saddle horses, and used buggies and carriages for transportation. From about 1918 on they used a tractor, touring car, and a truck.

“The family operated a steam engine which provided power for a cotton gin and press, and a corn meal and grist mill. There was also a cane grinder and three 200-gallon boilers for making a wonderful grade of syrup from white and dark sugar cane. The boilers operated 24 hours a day for three or four weeks during the cane harvesting season. Food produced on the plantation was for home use and for sale.

“Wheat was planted on Springfield Plantation during World War I. The grist mill was adjusted to make cake and bread flour from the wheat. Bread and pastries from the flour were delightful.

“Oyster marshes were leased to the owner of a nearby oyster house. Beds were seeded with the oyster shells along­side creeks across the marshes.

“Some of my brothers did not want to pursue the life of a farmer and went elsewhere at an early age to pursue other careers.

“There were always a lot of people at Springfield Planta­tion when I was a child. Cousins and friends came and went, and there was our own large family, a cook, a governess, and many people working on the plantation. Twenty-three peo­ple were fed three meals a day seven days a week all summer and most of the winter.”