Agriculture

From butter churns to diesel tractors, the Museum's agricultural artifacts trace the story of Americans who work the land. Agricultural tools and machinery in the collections range from a John Deere plow of the 1830s to 20th-century cultivators and harvesters. The Museum's holdings also include overalls, aprons, and sunbonnets; farm photographs; milk cans and food jars; handmade horse collars; and some 200 oral histories of farm men and women in the South. Prints in the collections show hundreds of scenes of rural life. The politics of agriculture are part of the story, too, told in materials related to farm workers' unions and a group of artifacts donated by the family of the labor leader Cesar Chavez.

John Deere Plow
John Deere Plow, 1830s
This model accompanied the patent application for William N. Whiteley’s improvement in harvesters that received patent number 197,192 on November 13, 1877.
Description
This model accompanied the patent application for William N. Whiteley’s improvement in harvesters that received patent number 197,192 on November 13, 1877. The combined reaper and mower had a single large wheel with a driver’s seat to steer the horses and manipulate the mower, reaper, or rake attachments This harvester model was manufactured under the brand name “Champion.” The Champion was sold by a variety of company’s across the country from its home in Springfield, Ohio which is still known as the “Champion City.”
A reaper is a machine for harvesting grain crops, especially wheat. Drawn by horses (or a tractor), a reaper uses a large blade to cut wheat stalks. Early reapers required farmers to rake wheat off the machine by hand. On self-raking models, automatic rakes pushed the wheat across a platform and deposited it on the ground in bunches. Workers followed the reaper, gathering and tying bundles of wheat, called “sheaves.” They stacked the sheaves into piles, called “stooks,” for protection from wind and rain. Later, workers threshed and winnowed the wheat to remove edible grains from the inedible chaff.
date made
1877
patent date
1877-11-13
inventor
Whiteley, William N.
ID Number
AG.197192
accession number
89797
catalog number
197192
patent number
197,192
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1879
ID Number
NU.69.127.694
catalog number
69.127.694
accession number
286471
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1875
ID Number
NU.69.127.741
catalog number
69.127.741
accession number
286471
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1875
ID Number
NU.69.127.742
catalog number
69.127.742
accession number
286471
On December 8, 1874 Joseph Glidden and Phineas Vaughn patented this machine for making wire fences. This apparatus attached barbs to double stranded wire cables that were used to corral cattle.
Description
On December 8, 1874 Joseph Glidden and Phineas Vaughn patented this machine for making wire fences. This apparatus attached barbs to double stranded wire cables that were used to corral cattle. The machine boasts a mahogany base and metal end pieces that are painted green with gold edging.
date made
1870 - 1874
patent date
1874-12-08
inventor
Glidden, Joseph F.
Vaughan, Phineas W.
ID Number
AG.157508
catalog number
157508
accession number
89797
catalog number
308814
patent number
157,508
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1874
ID Number
NU.69.127.695
catalog number
69.127.695
accession number
286471
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1872
ID Number
NU.69.127.455
catalog number
69.127.455
accession number
286471
Patented in 1877 this patent model of a plow jointer supporter created by James Oliver. Oliver developed a case-hardened cast-iron plow—a novel concept in the market. This model has a dark green finish, yellow trim and lettering and flower detailing.
Description
Patented in 1877 this patent model of a plow jointer supporter created by James Oliver. Oliver developed a case-hardened cast-iron plow—a novel concept in the market. This model has a dark green finish, yellow trim and lettering and flower detailing.
date made
1875 - 1877
patent date
1877-05-08
inventor
Oliver, James
ID Number
AG.190510
catalog number
190510
accession number
89797
patent number
190,510
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1875
ID Number
NU.69.127.745
catalog number
69.127.745
accession number
286471
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879
ID Number
NU.69.127.699
catalog number
69.127.699
accession number
286471
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1877
ID Number
NU.68.263.1220
catalog number
68.263.1220
accession number
281689
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1875
ID Number
NU.69.127.744
catalog number
69.127.744
accession number
286471
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1875
ID Number
NU.69.127.709
catalog number
69.127.709
accession number
286471
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1872
ID Number
NU.68.263.1760
catalog number
68.263.1760
accession number
281689
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1870
ID Number
NU.68.263.820
catalog number
68.263.820
accession number
281689
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1875
ID Number
NU.69.127.710
catalog number
69.127.710
accession number
286471
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1879
ID Number
NU.69.127.146
catalog number
69.127.146
accession number
286471
This model accompanied the patent application for Leander J. McCormick’s “Improvement in Grain-Binders” assigned patent number 222,416 on December 9, 1879. The grain binder was incorporated into McCormick’s mower and raker to form the self-binding harvester.
Description
This model accompanied the patent application for Leander J. McCormick’s “Improvement in Grain-Binders” assigned patent number 222,416 on December 9, 1879. The grain binder was incorporated into McCormick’s mower and raker to form the self-binding harvester. The machine would mow the hay, rake it into bunches, and then tie the bunches into sheaves that would dry in the field before being threshed.
date made
1875 - 1879
patent date
1879-12-09
inventor
McCormick, Leander J.
ID Number
AG.222416
catalog number
222416
accession number
89797
patent number
222,416
This is a patented iron case panel for “Race Match” matches, made by the Barber Match Company. The panel features the portraits of five women of different races titled Indian, Mongolian, Negro, Malay, and Caucasian.
Description (Brief)
This is a patented iron case panel for “Race Match” matches, made by the Barber Match Company. The panel features the portraits of five women of different races titled Indian, Mongolian, Negro, Malay, and Caucasian. The text reads “5 races, 5 colors, 5 cents.” The Barber Match Company was founded in 1864 in Akron, Ohio. In 1881, the Barber Match Company united with eleven other match manufacturers to create the Diamond Match Company, which remains the company’s current name.
date made
1870s
1870 - 1879
referenced business
Barber Match Company
ID Number
1979.0441.329
catalog number
1979.0441.329
accession number
1979.0441
During most of the 19th century, the U.S. Patent Office required inventors seeking patent protection to submit both a written application and a three-dimensional model. This wood and metal patent model of a windmill succeeded in gaining its inventor, H. M.
Description
During most of the 19th century, the U.S. Patent Office required inventors seeking patent protection to submit both a written application and a three-dimensional model. This wood and metal patent model of a windmill succeeded in gaining its inventor, H. M. Wood, Patent Number 222,340, which was issued on December 2, 1879. As farms spread into the American heartland, windmills proved an extremely important technology, allowing settlers to use the renewable power of wind to pump groundwater for agricultural and household use. Efficiency and reliability were key attributes for rural windmills, and professional and lay inventors experimented with hundreds of design variations throughout the years.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879
patent date
1879-12-02
inventor
Wood, Harvey M.
ID Number
MC.309136
catalog number
309136
accession number
89797
patent number
222,340
This roughly built wooden and metal device is the U.S. patent model for a counter patented by Alexander P. Atkinson of Vermont, Ill., on November 7, 1871. It has an open wooden frame, with a window at the front for viewing the registering wheels.
Description
This roughly built wooden and metal device is the U.S. patent model for a counter patented by Alexander P. Atkinson of Vermont, Ill., on November 7, 1871. It has an open wooden frame, with a window at the front for viewing the registering wheels. The three wheels are mounted on a crosswise shaft, along with a fourth wheel, which drives the others. Lowering a crank on the right side of the frame moves the driving wheel and the rightmost registering wheel one unit back. Returning the crank upright moves the driving but not the registering wheel.
The wheels are wooden. The registering wheels are covered with paper bands around the edge which have the digits marked from 0 to 9. Screws are used as gear teeth in much of the mechanism. The device carries. According to the patent, the machine was intended for use in counting the number of bushels or other measures of grain that passed a given point.
A mark on the front above the window reads: A.P. Atkinson (/) Vermont (/) Ill’s.
Alexander P. Atkinson (1840-1906) lived in Vermont, Ill., and founded the Vermont Loan and Building Association in 1889. He remained President of that bank into the 20th century.
References:
Alexander P. Atkinson, “Improvement in Counting-Registers,” U.S. Patent 120,609, November 7, 1871.
J. S. McCullough, Twelfth Annual Report of the Condition of Building, Loan and Homestead Associations Doing Business in Illinois, Springfield, Illinois: Phillips Brothers, 1903, p. 307.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1874
patentee
Atkinson, Alexander P.
maker
Atkinson, Alexander P.
ID Number
MA.309342
accession number
89797
catalog number
309342
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 208,208 issued to Elijah H. Smith on September 17, 1878. His invention was an improved design for a windmill with folding sails. The concept of the folding sail windmill was not new.
Description
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 208,208 issued to Elijah H. Smith on September 17, 1878. His invention was an improved design for a windmill with folding sails. The concept of the folding sail windmill was not new. In fact Mr. Smith had received an earlier patent for such a windmill. Folding sails allowed the windmill to automatically regulate its speed in varying wind strengths. As the wind increased the individual arms and sails would progressively fold up to present less area to the wind, thus acting as a governor. Once completely folded the windmill had little more cross section to the wind than would a windmill with a single arm and two sails. In Smith’s first folding sail design the maximum angle between its eight sails was limited by leather straps interconnecting each sail arm. Speed was then controlled by an auxiliary sail attached to the sails on the inner most sail arm. This auxiliary sail was loosely held down onto its host sail by a spring. As the wheel speed became greater the spring was overcome and the auxiliary sail would open to an angle of 90 degrees to the plane of the primary sail. This caused the inner arm and sails to slow until it was behind the next outer arm and sails, and this was repeated for the rest of the arms and sails until the wheel was folded. At that point little more than two sails face the wind and the speed of the wheel would be at a minimum. Smith included a braking wheel on the hub of the inner most arm and sail set. A wooden lever was pivoted at the front of the cross-head and could be pulled down by a rope led to the base of the windmill, thus making the lever contact the brake wheel and stop the windmill. There were two new elements in Smith’s 1878 patent. The first was to replace the function of the leather straps that controlled arm and sail spacing with a new design for the hubs at the center of each arm. Each hub had metal projections on its circumference that limited the motion of the next arm to an angle of 30 degrees to it. The outer-most arm was secured in place with a set screw on the shaft. This allowed the six arms to be evenly spaced around the wheel when fully extended. Folding of the wheel in heavy wind was controlled as in the earlier patent. The second new element was a modification of the braking mechanism. The tail-board beam was pivoted at the rear of the cross-head. This allowed the front of the beam to move upward to contact the brake wheel, and the weight of the tail-board was sufficient to apply friction and stop the windmill. A rod attached to the front of the brake lever was led to the base of the windmill and could be drawn down and pinned to disable the brake for normal operation.
The patent model is constructed of wood and metal and is mounted on a wooden base. The model illustrates the main elements of the patent including the hubs controlling the spacing of the arms when extended and the braking mechanism. The model also includes a thread representing the rope extending to the base of the windmill tower used to engage the braking mechanism. Not represented on the model is the auxiliary sail used to fold the windmill to govern speed in high winds.
date made
1878
patent date
1878-09-17
inventor
Smith, Elijah S.
ID Number
MC.309137
catalog number
309137
accession number
89797
patent number
208,208
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 212,000 issued to John H. Heinz of Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, on February 4, 1879. Mr.
Description
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 212,000 issued to John H. Heinz of Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, on February 4, 1879. Mr. Heinz’s patent was for a design to automate the sorting of vegetables (as well as fruits, pickles, etc.) by size. Commercial packing technology had improved significantly at the time of the patent, and to keep up with faster production timelines a more efficient sorting method not dependent on manual labor was needed. Mr. Heinz’s design is shown in the photo to the left. It consisted of a wooden frame that held two concentric cylinders mounted on a shaft that sloped downwards from right to left. The cylinders had longitudinal slots wide enough to allow items of that size to fall through. The machine would be operated by the crank shown at the left end. The crank turned the central shaft via a gear so that the cylinders revolved, distributing the items evenly within them. Near the left side of the photo the inner cylinder is visible where it exits from the larger, outer cylinder. A hopper, shown at the upper right of the machine, received the items to be sorted and introduced them into the inner cylinder. To reduce jamming and produce an even distribution of items, the hopper was vibrated by a ratchet and bar at the end of the shaft. The inner cylinder had slotted openings that were sized such that all but the largest items would fall through into the outer cylinder. The inner cylinder’s longitudinal slots ended where it exited from the outer cylinder because, at that point, only the largest items remained. They would travel down the closed inner cylinder to the collection bin at the left. The slots at the upper end of the outer cylinder were sized so that the smallest items to be sorted passed through and into a collection hopper shown at lower right. Medium sized items would travel down the outer cylinder to its left end where a plate would force them to fall into the middle collection hopper. Each collection hopper could be closed by slide-gates to hold the items until workers could empty them. While this patent model has provisions for just three grades of size, Mr. Heinz made note that his invention was not limited to any particular number. This patent improved upon an earlier one by Mr. Heinz which was Patent Number 197, 934, dated December 11, 1877. In a later patent (Number 212,849 dated March 4, 1879) Mr. Heinz and his brother and co-inventor, Henry J. Heinz (founder of the Heinz Company), provided further improvements in the sorter design. In that patent they limited their description to a design for sorting pickles. They did away with the concentric cylinders in favor of an inclined, vibrating box with exit slots of varying sizes to sort the pickles. In 1890 Mr. John H. Heinz again improved upon the designs with Patent Number 545,689, dated December 17, 1890. That design was for a more elaborate version of the concentric cylinder sorter.
The patent model is constructed of wood and metal. The model is complete and shows all the key elements of the patent with the exception of the collection hopper slide-gates which are missing. Diagrams showing the complete design can be found in the patent document online (www.USPTO.gov/patents/process/search/index.jsp).
date made
ca 1879
patent date
1879-02-04
inventor
Heinz, John H.
ID Number
AG.212000
accession number
89797
catalog number
212000
patent number
212,000
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
patent date
1877-05-08
ID Number
1977.0977.004
catalog number
1977.0977.004
accession number
1977.0977
patent number
190545

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