A History of Bayou Cora Farms Heirloom Corn

The story of Bayou Cora Farms heirloom corn began not long after the Civil War.  James Phillip Lipscomb came to Baldwin County, Alabama in 1875 and brought with him a corn variety form Marengo County, Alabama.  He settled in what is now the Vernant Park Community just outside of Magnolia Springs.  There he established a farm and began to plant the corn.  Over several years, he built up a seed stock and was soon able to plant several acres.  Some of the corn was used for eating during the milk stage, as many people did with field or sweet corn, but the majority of each year’s crop was dried and used for cattle feed.  This heirloom variety, commonly known as “Indian Corn”, only changes into its multitude of red, yellow, orange, purple, and blue colors, after it begins to dry.