Title	Plowing with a team of mules
Description	Young man in the foreground plowing with a team of three mules. The background is filled with a haystack, farm buildings, and Wilson County farmland.
Historical Note	This image highlights the importance of the mule to the development of Tennessee's farm economy. They would overtake oxen between 1870 and 1880 to become the state's main draft animals and work stock. Advances in machinery allowed for lighter and more maneuverable plows, and that contributed to the switch from the more powerful oxen to mules and horses. The relatively light wooden plow being used is most likely to be a cultivating plow, rather than a breaking plow.
Date	Approximately 1880
Place	Wilson County (Tenn.)
Collection	Looking Back At Tennessee Photograph Collection
Subjects - LCSH	Agriculture; Plowing; Mules
Subjects - TGM	Plowing Mules Muleteers Farms Croplands Outbuildings Farm life Haystacks Agricultural facilities Barns Agricultural laborers Agricultural machinery & implements
Series	Wilson County
Accession Number	1988-017
Owning Institution	Tennessee State Library & Archives
ID#	29643
Digital Type	Still Image
Negative #	WL137
Digital Format	Image/jp2
Image Rights	Digital image © 2008, Tennessee State Library & Archives. All rights reserved.
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