The Plant Doctor

The first destination on our itinerary today was George Washington Carver National Monument, about 30 miles west of Monett in Diamond, MO. Because we also had two other places to visit later in the day, we hit the road as early as our teenagers could tolerate.

To save time, we arrived before the visitor center opened and walked the Carver Trail first, a one-mile self-guiding loop. Along the path near the visitor center were several markers inscribed with quotes from Carver. It was nice to see that his faith in God was displayed so prominently throughout the park.

"...to me, my dear young friends, nature in its varied forms are the little windows through which God permits me to commune with Him, and to see much of His glory, majesty, and power by simply lifting the curtain and looking in..."
- George Washington Carver, February 1930

The first stop on the trail marks the approximate area of the slave cabin where Carver was born.
(📷: NPS)

Even though George Washington Carver (~1864-1943) is generally known for his work in the South, developing myriad uses for peanuts as an alternative crop to cotton, it was here in Missouri where he was born into slavery near the end of the Civil War. As an infant, he was kidnapped along with his mother by outlaws from Arkansas. Their owner Moses Carver hired someone to get them back, but only George was found and returned.

After slavery was abolished, Moses and his wife Susan raised George and his brother. Because of his frail health, George was not expected to perform chores in the field but was encouraged to learn, often exploring the woods near his home.

Boy Carver Statue

"As a very small boy exploring the almost virgin woods of the old Carver place, I had the impression someone had just been there ahead of me... I was practically overwhelmed with the sense of some Great Presence... 

I knew even then it was the Great Spirit of the universe... 

Never since have I been without this consciousness of the Creator speaking to me through flowers, rocks, animals, plants, and all other aspects of His creations."

Moses Carver built this house in 1881. While George never lived in in it, he did visit the Carvers here on several occasions.

When he was about 11 years old, he left the Carvers' farm to attend school. His pursuit of education led him to Kansas, and he eventually attended college at Iowa State to study agriculture. After earning his master's degree in 1896, Carver was recruited by Booker T. Washington to head the Agriculture Department at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He spent the next 47 years there, teaching and doing research.

Susan and Moses Carver are buried in the Carver Family Cemetery

Among Carver's notable contributions were the development of crop rotation techniques to help farmers restore nitrogen to their soils by alternating cotton crops with sweet potatoes or legumes (such as peanuts and soybeans). He also developed an agricultural extension program to help teach farmers how to successfully rotate and cultivate the new crops. And to promote these crops, he and his assistants developed hundreds of applications for them and distributed recipes utilizing them as ingredients to help improve nutrition. All of these efforts were motivated by a desire "to help the man farthest down."

The visitor center had great hands-on exhibits!

We really enjoyed our visit here! It worked out well that we arrived early so that we could walk around outside before it got too hot. And there was so much to do/see inside the visitor center, too!

Next stop: Pea Ridge.