Farm & Fireside (1877-1939)
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In August, 1877 at the suggestion of Phineas P. Mast, John S. Crowell relocated to Springfield from Louisville, Kentucky to direct the bi-monthly farm journal, Farm and Fireside. The early years of Farm and Fireside were nomadic. Initially, the farm journal was published at the manufacturing plant of P.P. Mast & Co. The first floor was dedicated to publishing the journal, while the second floor held the executive offices. The Journal was published at the P.P. Mast & Co. plant for only one year. In 1878 Farm and Fireside moved to the Bushnell Building until a new facility could be constructed on the corner of High and Factory Streets. The new factory, known as the Farm and Fireside building opened in 1881. |
P.P. Mast & Co. Offices - Bushnell Building Sketch, Circa 1880 Farm and Fireside Building, Circa 1882
The early content of Farm and Fireside served primarily as an inexpensive medium to advertise agricultural implements manufactured by P.P. Mast & Co. The journal also included responses to reader inquiries and some short story fiction. However, the arrival of the industrial revolution transformed agriculture from being a means of independent production to a commercialized industry. The commercialization of agriculture required Farm and Fireside to adopt a new editorial philosophy that addressed the economics and commercial aspects of farming. The content of Farm and Fireside provides a first hand account of America's conversion from a rural to an urban population and the emergence of the modern commercial landscape.
