Shirley Plantation in Virginia is America's oldest farm, and the 700-acre plot is still a working plantation. But it has a deeply troubled colonial history as a key player in the slave trade. In 1787 its owner Charles Carter owned 785 enslaved people across 10 countries, 201 of whom were based at Shirley, making him the largest slave-owner in Virginia at the time. When slavery was abolished in 1865, many former enslaved people remained at Shirley and became paid farmers.

The humble beginnings of some of the world's biggest businesses

America's oldest companies still open for business then and now