augustaeconomy

Augusta County Economy The economy of Augusta County, Virginia was largely based on farming. The county produced a large amount of corn. They sold most of their produce locally avoiding the northern market because they wanted to avoid selling to the North in an effort to cripple their economy and force them to do the bidding of the South. “ We do not hesitate to assert that the whole industrial system of New England would be completely prostituted if the Southern market should be closed against their manufactures. There were a large variety of values of the farms in Augusta County ranging from the very small to the very large. There was no are that was dominated by either poor or wealthy farmers. There was a scattering of other industries in Augusta County with the three most numerous, other than farming, were: flour mills, sawmills, and distilleries. Few people owned slaves in the county with only two owners able to afford more than twenty slaves.