Until the last decade or so, most of us had a
relative who lived on a farm. Many of our genealogical roots are
sunk deep into the land. This connection to the soil has become a
little more tenuous as farms have dwindled in number and fewer
workers turn the soil for a living. If you are looking for a chance
to learn a little about the equipment that tilled the land, to see
billowing steam engines, or to learn more about the history of
agriculture in central Illinois, the opportunity is ripe.
Several agricultural museums offer a peek at
the past and host tractor shows and farm-heritage days. Get ready
to hear the hiss of steam, the pop of a two-cylinder engine, and
the rumble of tractors in motion. Make these events part of your
summer plans.
American Farm Heritage Museum
This museum, located in Greenville, is the new kid
on the block, still in its beginning stages. The purpose is educational, and the museum should
hold special appeal for aficionados of old agricultural equipment.
“This is for collectors of all types,” says Sherry
Schaefer, a member of the museum’s board and editor of Oliver Heritage magazine.
The museum is a haven for all makes and
models of tractors and farm equipment, as well as fire trucks and
other historical vehicles. One unique display that is being planned:
a re-creation of a fort that once stood in the Greenville area.
Right now the museum comprises one large
building and a covered pavilion, but other structures — a
village with a re-created homestead, a general store, a blacksmith
shop, and a one-room school — are in the planning and
construction phases. Wheat and hay crops, which have been planted
as an income-building prospect, allow visitors to experience
old-time farming. Plans to add a railroad and steam engines are
also in motion.
Last July, the museum held its first tractor show; this year, in addition to the show, a
“tractorcade” is planned — like a motorcade but
featuring tractors instead of automobiles. “At our first show, we
had over 120 tractors. This year the show will again be the last
weekend in July,” Schaefer says. “We are putting together a
four-corners tractorcade. Tractors will come from Hillsboro, Vandalia,
Carlyle, and Highland.”
The show is scheduled for July 29 and 30, and
the tractorcade will be held July 29. The tractors will leave from their four corner
destinations and arrive at approximately the same time. “We are
trying to get 100 tractors from each direction,” Schaefer says.
For questions about the museum or the
upcoming show, contact AFHM president Ollie Schaefer at
618-664-3050 or visit www.americanfarmheritagemuseum.org.
Anderson Mansion/Macoupin County Museum
Along with the former private residence that houses the Macoupin County Historical
Society, the Anderson Mansion/Macoupin County Museum features a
one-room schoolhouse, a blacksmith shop, and agricultural equipment.
The mansion, a beautiful Italian-style home
built in the late 1850s, houses the Macoupin County Museum and is
home to displays depicting life in mid-America during the 1800s, as
well as military memorabilia and information on medical practices
of the time.
The museum is open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. each
Wednesday or by appointment, as well as during festivals. The
summer show was held Memorial Day weekend; the fall festival,
always the third weekend in September, is Sept. 16-18 this year.
The chicken noodles and strawberry shortcake are legendary. The
museum is located at 920 W. Breckenridge St. in Carlinville; call
217-854-2850 or 217-854-8916. Donations are accepted for tours.
Carlinville has other historic sites worth
exploring, including the “Million Dollar courthouse,” a
jail, and what is billed as the nation’s largest collection
of Sears-catalog houses. The Carlinville Chamber of Commerce offers
package deals for groups traveling to the area. For more
information, visit www.carlinvillechamber.com/vacation.html.
Paublo Agricultural Museum
Located in rural Stonington, the Paublo Agricultural
Museum features antique tractors, an old house, a barn, an old
church, and a trading post. The all-volunteer museum is devoted to
promoting agriculture by preserving and teaching the history of
farm life. The group has a membership of about 4,500, with members
from all 50 states and even a few foreign countries. Part of the
purpose of the museum and its yearly Farm Expo is to show
today’s kids what life was life before the advent of TV and
video games.
The museum began as the dream of Paul and
Valera Sckowsk, who donated 4.25 acres in 1978. The Farm Expo, held
at the site, features down-home entertainment, tractor pulls,
corn-shelling, and sawmilling, among other activities. The museum
is located midway between Taylorville and Decatur on Illinois
Highway 48. The annual Tractor and Steam Show is scheduled for July
16 and 17. For more information, call 217-824-3829.
Prairie Land Heritage Museum
This museum is easy to find, thanks to the Eli
Ferris wheel on the grounds. Located in Jacksonville, off Highway
36, the Prairie Land Heritage Museum has been around for more than
30 years. The land, which originally belonged to the nearby state
hospital, was used as a working farm for hospital patients.
Although buildings have been added to the
museum over the years to hold tractors, gas and steam engines, farm
wagons, horse-drawn farming equipment, and other
agriculture-related items, the beautiful old barn on the grounds
has been there for ages.
Each year, the museum hosts a steam show and
flea market that draw people from across the country. This
year’s steam show and fall festival are scheduled for Sept.
23-25. For more information, visit
www.jacksonvilleil.org/prairieland/ or call 217-997-2102.
Penfield Agricultural Museum
The Penfield Agricultural Museum is housed on
the upper story of an old school, located on grounds owned by the
Illinois and Indiana Antique Tractor and Gas Engine club.
The club began collecting items for the
museum around 1997. Two rooms of the schoolhouse contain a variety
of plows that were once pulled by horses. An ox yoke reveals just
how large these animals were. A farmer might have used a broadcast
seeder to sow corn by hand.
Once the corn had been harvested, the farmer
might have used such devices as the metal grid corn dryer and
seed-corn-germinating tester, both on view at the museum, to get
the crop ready for market. Livestock items are on display as well,
including a nose clamp used to lead cattle and a neck yoke designed
to keep the wearer, a cow, from climbing fences. The two rooms are
chock-full of items that everyone under 90 should see to learn a
little about our agricultural history.
In addition to the items housed in the
museum, look for the Hart-Parr No. 3, the oldest operating
gas-powered tractor, which is on loan from the Smithsonian
Institution along with a one-of-a-kind experimental International
Harvester gas-turbine-powered HT-340 hydrostatic-drive tractor.
Agriculture broadcaster Orion Samuelson’s restored 1939
Farmall F20 is also on display.
July 7-10, the Penfield grounds will come
alive for Historic Farm Days. This year, the club is hosting the
Massey Collectors of Illinois summer show and displaying Leader
tractors. For more information, visit www.antiquefarm.org.
This article appears in Jun 2-8, 2005.
