A study of agricultural practices around New Philadelphia, Illinois, and a comparison of these practices with those in the regions from whence the New Philadelphia residents came, tests the definitions of Upland South, Midland, and Northern (or Yankee) subsistence traditions. Using data from the U.S. census reports and agriculture schedules from 1840 and 1850, the choices of crops and livestock made by farmers in New York, Ohio, and Kentucky are compared to those made in the New Philadelphia community. Regional differences are found to have existed which influenced the farmers who lived in the area of that town in western Illinois. This study provides a firmer understanding of the subsistence and economic practices of the community.