LONDON, Ohio – Farm Science Review (FSR) is held at The Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London. FSR is also home to the Gwynne Conservation Area, a 67-acre demonstration and education area dedicated to promoting sustainable agriculture and natural resources management practices.

But have you ever wondered who Molly Caren is and how the Gwynne Conservation Area got its name?

It all began more than 200 years ago. The property that hosts FSR was originally a Virginia Military Land Grant of 7,000 acres conveyed by President Thomas Jefferson. The property was purchased by frontier real estate investor Evan Gwynne in 1813. From the beginning, the land was titled Upper Gwynne South farm, and it passed successively from Thomas and David Gwynne to Eli Gwynne, Baldwin Gwynne, Edmund Gwynne, Marie Brown Caren and finally to Molly Caren, the last descendant, who, in 1982, transferred 993 acres to Ohio State University for agricultural education.

Agriculture played an important part in the life of Molly’s mother, Marie, who grew up on Brown’s Fruit Farm near Worthington. Marie graduated from Ohio State with a major in English in 1935. She married John Caren, a prominent attorney in Columbus, and they remained on the Worthington farm.

The responsibilities of running the farm maintained and strengthened the ties between Marie and OSU. Her father (Frame Brown) and the Ohio Cooperative Extension Service at OSU had developed into a mutually beneficial relationship. The proximity of the Worthington farm to the Columbus campus made it an ideal place for professors in agriculture to take their classes and observe farming practices. In exchange, Frame Brown learned the latest about discoveries and innovations in agriculture, especially pest control and soil improvement. This relationship intensified after 1936 when Marie Caren assumed the management of the farm.

Molly eventually assumed management of the farm and in 1981 was approached by OSU Dean Roy Kottman of the College of Agriculture about selling her share of the Gwynne farm to OSU. Like her mother, Molly had a passion for agriculture and OSU. Molly had no heirs, so in August 1982, Upper Gwynne South Farm was sold to OSU. The land was valued at $2.2 million but was sold for $500,000 at Molly’s request. It was named the Molly Caren Agricultural Center.

The first FSR took place in September 1963 at OSU’s Don Scott Airport just northwest of the university. Separate themes were attached to each annual get-together. The theme for the first show was “Showcase of Agriculture” and more than 18,000 visitors paid 50 cents a ticket to view 116 commercial exhibits and be the first to witness no-till corn demonstrations.

In 1964, FSR was titled “Show Window of Agriculture.” Last Year’s theme was “Embracing Time and Change.” The theme for 2025 is “Transforming Tradition.”

Features of the 1965 show were combines with 12-foot heads and seven-bottom plows. And 1966 saw the first field demonstrations, along with the first glimpse of solid-row planting of soybeans.

The 1967 show was considered by many to be the “Mud Bowl” of shows as rainy, muddy conditions that year made things treacherous for exhibitors and visitors.

“Up-to-Date in ’68” was the theme for 1968. The main attraction that year was an irrigation system in the crop plots that covered 11.5 acres with each revolution.

By 1969 the cost to enter rose to 75 cents. Attendance rose to 39,000 and there were 192 exhibitors that year. The OSU Department of Animal Science put on a rodeo and fertilizer was spread by airplane. Event organizers put tents side-by-side to create a “mall” concept, but it created a confusing maze and was never attempted again.

In 1970, the beltway surrounding Columbus (Interstate 270) was completed and made access to the FSR much easier. A Corn Blight tent featured seminars in response to an outbreak of blight that year.

Skip-row soybeans and upright hybrid corn plantings were the highlights of 1974. Gravel roads were added to the site in 1975, and an antique farm equipment display made its appearance in 1976. In 1977, more than 65,000 entered the gates to see 420 exhibitors.

Nitrogen stabilizers were the hot item in the FSR field tests in 1978, while no-till planting was the big draw in 1979. In 1980, research on sludge took center stage.

The show was relocated to its present-day location of London, Ohio, in 1983 thanks to Molly Caren. It took officials nine months and $700,000 to make the move, but it was needed as the show outgrew Don Scott Field.

Highlights at this new location were plentiful, such as the construction of a $350,000 grain complex, an 80-acre exhibit area and a Home, Yard and Garden program was installed.

In 1986, more than 119,000 visitors and 506 commercial exhibitors were involved with the show. The National Plowing March was held on the grounds that year as well.

In 1988, visitors attended during Ohio’s second-worst drought in history. Fast forward to 1995, when global positioning technology, or GPS, made the scene, as did auto-steering tractor technology. That was also the year Chuck Gamble became manager of Farm Science Review.

Five years later the first flush toilets were installed at the show, replacing portable units. And in 2005, 18 Purdue University specialists partnered with the FSR for the first time.

The 2008 show will be remembered as the year Hurricane Ike leveled tents and played havoc with the schedule. And who can forget the theme for the show that following year, “Your 2009 Bale Out.”

“While many attending Farm Science Review this year will not remember farming as it was 63 years ago, we hope this is a year to reflect on how much the industry has advanced so that excitement will build for the future knowing how rapid technology is shaping many areas of our industry,” FSR manager Nick Zachrich said.