You are standing in front of a reader rail titled “Window on the Past: Agricultural Boom.” To your left is a graphic panel titled “Separated by Slavery” and an accompanying reader rail, flip book, and audio component. To your right is a graphic panel titled “SERC’s Campus and the Surrounding Area: 1776 to 1865.”

The reader rail in front of you includes text and two images.

The main text reads:

WINDOW ON THE PAST
Agricultural Boom
Local agriculture flourished in the years before the Civil War. The enslaved workforce provided a steady source of unpaid labor. Modern methods and machinery made farming more efficient. And canals, railroads, and steamboats delivered crops to growing markets in Baltimore, Washington, and other cities.

The images include:

A painting of Alfred Sellman. The caption reads: In the mid-1800s, Alfred Sellman transitioned from growing tobacco to growing wheat and other cereal grains. By the start of the Civil War, all land suitable for cultivation had been cleared and was in use as cropland or pasture.

A black-and-white photo of oxen and a cart at Contees Wharf. The caption reads: Steamboats ferried people, crops, and livestock from Contees Wharf to Annapolis and Baltimore.