From the Executive Director

Historic sites and museums offer an opportunity to connect us to the past, but they also provide ways for us to think about the future. I recently attended the Lancaster County Hemp Circuit at Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum, a Pennsylvania Trails of History site where we have several artifacts related to the agricultural and industrial history of hemp in Pennsylvania.

Hemp was grown widely across the commonwealth in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Lancaster County was the center of this agricultural activity. The Founding Fathers were supporters of hemp and introduced laws across the colonies to promote the growth of the plant. In 1683 the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a law to encourage every farmer to grow hemp “by making the fiber legal tender at four pence per pound to alleviate currency shortages and to promote commerce.”

More than 100 water-powered mills were located across the county to process hemp fiber and to press hemp seeds into oil. The fiber was used to produce rope, grain bags, clothing and wagon covers, while the oil was used in paint, ink, varnishes and lamp oil.

Hemp parchment was used for the first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence, and linen made from hemp clothed the Continental Army at Valley Forge; hemp fiber was used for marine rope and sails and for cordage for railroads.

Various factors, including introduction of new materials and technologies, led to the decline in hemp in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The death knell, however, came in 1937 with the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act, when hemp’s cousin, cannabis, was effectively prohibited; hemp was caught up in the legislation, and heavy taxes were levied on the crop. In 1970 hemp was criminalized when the entire Cannabis sativa L. plant was classified as illegal.

Industrial hemp recently was separated legally from marijuana. In 2016 Gov. Tom Wolf signed a law allowing research into the growth and use of hemp, with old uses revived and new uses explored.

We were glad to host farmers and researchers — local and from across the Eastern Seaboard — as they held conversations about how this Pennsylvania crop may be revitalized for the future. To me, this gathering illustrates one of the roles we at PHMC eagerly play — serving as a community partner to provide historical context, while looking to the future.

Andrea Lowery
Executive Director, PHMC