From "Everyday Life in Colonial America 1607-1783" by Dale Taylor

"Until the eve of the Civil War, the average plantation in the Chesapeake region consisted of a single family who lived in a one-room house some 16'x20' or 20'x20' on 50 to 250 acres." 

"Both farms and plantations were generally small, about 250 acres maximum size, since more acreage could not be successfully cultivated by a single family." 

And somewhere in my research I read (I think "Albions Seed") that "farms" were under 200 acres and "plantations" were 200 acres or more. But they both had the same kind of house. - this would be 1700's.

Any sources elsewhere for these numbers for farms and plantations?

Regards,   Diana Kercheval Bennett