In 1943 when Congress okayed the establishment of The George Washington Carver National Monument, it was a powerful tribute to George Washington Carver as a leading agricultural scientist, educator and humanitarian.
The Monument in Newton County in southwest Missouri consists of land that was the 240-acre farm of Moses Carver. George Washington Carver was born in 1864 on that farm, which also became his childhood home.
Not too long after his birth, slavery was abolished, and Carver was raised by his former white owners, Susan and Moses Carver, on a small homestead in Missouri.
Carver grew up intrigued by nature and thanks to what was described as his “curious mind”, he excelled in school at a time when most Blacks were not even allowed to acquire an education. In 1896, Carver earned a master’s degree in agriculture from Iowa State and went on to work with education and civil rights leader Booker T. Washington. Carver made a name for himself in the agricultural department at the famed Tuskegee Institute, developing methods to improve soil quality.
Dubbed the “Black Leonardo” by Times in 1941, Carver doubled as a botanist and inventor and also helped poor Black farmers to grow alternative crops, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes, to improve their quality of life.
As years of cultivating cotton significantly degraded soil nutrients, Carver, who was a crop rotation expert, suggested the growing of peanuts, sweet potatoes and soybeans – as they’re nitrogen-fixing plants – to help replenish soil nutrients. Through this method also, cotton yields significantly increased when the farms were converted back to their former purpose some years later, according to History.
During his career, Carver also created several products made out of peanuts, sweet potatoes and soybeans. He received several awards including the Spingarn Medal from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1923.
Just months after he died in 1943, the George Washington Carver National Monument was founded and in July 1953 when it was officially dedicated, it became the first monument dedicated to an African American and the first to a non-president.
The Carver described the monument as “a living museum where history, nature, and education converge.”
It said the “240-acre park, with its rolling hills, woodlands, and prairies, offers visitors a glimpse into Carver’s early life and the environment that shaped his worldview. The site includes the 1881 Moses Carver house, the Carver cemetery, and an interactive exhibit area for students, making it a hub of learning and reflection.”
Being the first monument dedicated to an African American, the George Washington Carver National Monument celebrated diversity amid racial tensions at the time. Its establishment opened the doors for other monuments celebrating African Americans to be founded to commemorate major milestones in African-American history and culture.
