Housed in a replica of an original dairy barn, the Coker Experimental Farms National Historic Landmark preserves the story of how the Coker Pedigreed Seed Company of Hartsville helped revolutionize Southern agriculture in the late 19th century. The company was an experimental farm, founded by David R. Coker in 1914, and had the first cotton-breeding program in the United States.

Coker's father, Major James Lide Coker, who was educated at Harvard and The Citadel, was a Confederate veteran who was determined to help restore the South from the devastation of the Civil War. The founder of Sonoco Corporation and the namesake of Coker College in Hartsville, Major Coker introduced scientific methods for production of cotton, tobacco, corn and pulp wood that helped transform Southern agriculture and establish the New South.

David R. Coker followed and improved his father's experiments, and the Coker Pedigreed Seed Company became a national leader in farming methods. Innovations by the company's scientists dramatically raised the yield of the South's key crops as well as new ones such as soybeans. The Coker Experimental Farms National Historic Landmark features a variety of museum exhibits which depict the company's impact on Southern agriculture.

Access Description: Open 7 Days, 10am-6pm
Admission: Free