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
Ira Wertman, a farmer in Andreas, Pennsylvania, raised fruits and vegetables and peddled them with this truck to retired coal miners near Allentown. He also used the truck to take produce to market and haul supplies from town to the farm.
Description
Ira Wertman, a farmer in Andreas, Pennsylvania, raised fruits and vegetables and peddled them with this truck to retired coal miners near Allentown. He also used the truck to take produce to market and haul supplies from town to the farm. Pickup trucks have been versatile aids to a wide range of agricultural, personal, and business activities. Early pickup trucks were modified automobiles, but postwar models were larger, more powerful, and able to carry heavier loads. Some postwar pickups were used in building suburban communities. Others were used for recreational purposes such as camping, hunting, and fishing. By the 1990s, many people purchased pickups for everyday driving.
date made
1949
maker
General Motors Corporation
ID Number
1999.0057.01
accession number
1999.0057
catalog number
1999.0057.01
This jacket was worn by Mary Louise Reynnells as the Pacific High School FFA chapter sweetheart in San Bernadino, California in 1977.
Description
This jacket was worn by Mary Louise Reynnells as the Pacific High School FFA chapter sweetheart in San Bernadino, California in 1977. Prior to 1969, the Future Farmers of America excluded females from membership, and being a chapter sweetheart was the only way for women to be involved. After membership was opened to all, chapter sweetheart was an honorary title elected by the chapter who wore a special white jacket when she served as chapter hostess for visitors or at events. The white jacket has the seal of the FFA on the left breast with a small yellow patch underneath that reads “Chapter Sweetheart.” The right breast is embroidered "Louise Rogers / 1977 / Pacific / San Bernardino" in blue script. In 1978 Reynells was elected chapter president, and received the Bank of America Achievement award in Agriculture.
The FFA was founded in 1928 to engage youngsters with agriculture and prepare young farmers for the future challenges of farming. In 1933 the band from the Fredericktown chapter of the FFA wore the blue corduroy jacket to the sixth annual convention, where the delegates became so enamoured with the jacket that it was adopted by the organization as its official dress.
date made
1977
ID Number
2014.0153.01
catalog number
2014.0153.01
accession number
2014.0153
In its search to develop electric power through chemical reactions, Allis-Chalmers in 1951 began research on fuel cells. In October 1959 near West Allis, Wisconsin, this fuel cell tractor plowed a field of alfalfa with a double-bottom plow.
Description
In its search to develop electric power through chemical reactions, Allis-Chalmers in 1951 began research on fuel cells. In October 1959 near West Allis, Wisconsin, this fuel cell tractor plowed a field of alfalfa with a double-bottom plow. Fuel cells produce electrical power directly through a chemical reaction, without heat, smoke, or noise. Unlike standard batteries, fuel cells do not store energy but convert chemical energy to electric energy.
This tractor has 1,008 fuel cells joined in 112 units of 9 cells each arranged in four banks that produced power to run a standard Allis-Chalmers 20 horsepower dc motor. Using a fuel cell to produce power was not a new idea in the 1950s. Over a century earlier, Sir William Grove originated the idea of a fuel cell that would run on hydrogen and oxygen. Over the years inventors experimented with a number of fuels and configurations. The search for an efficient and economical fuel cell unit continues.
Location
Currently not on view (fuel cell)
date made
1959-10
maker
Allis-Chalmers Company
ID Number
AG.76A8
accession number
232284
catalog number
76A08
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1896
ID Number
NU.69.127.612
catalog number
69.127.612
accession number
286471
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
1898
publisher
Underwood & Underwood Illustration Studios
maker
Strohmeyer & Wyman
ID Number
2006.0142.21
accession number
2006.0142
catalog number
2006.0142.21
A poster giving examples of egg sizes and how to cook fried and poached eggs.
Description
A poster giving examples of egg sizes and how to cook fried and poached eggs.
date made
1967
copyright date
1967
associated institution
U.S. Department of Agriculture
maker
U.S. Department of Agriculture
ID Number
ZZ.RSN81724Y42
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
1891
ID Number
NU.NU61826.1
catalog number
NU61826
accession number
210914
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1895
ID Number
NU.68.263.832
catalog number
68.263.832
accession number
281689
This shipping crate side has a label for Gilbert S. Graves Family Gloss Starch that was manufactured by the National Starch Company of Buffalo, New York during the late 19th and early 20th century. The crate contained 16 3-pound boxes of starch.
Description (Brief)
This shipping crate side has a label for Gilbert S. Graves Family Gloss Starch that was manufactured by the National Starch Company of Buffalo, New York during the late 19th and early 20th century. The crate contained 16 3-pound boxes of starch. The National Starch Company was one of the largest American producers of starch during the early 20th century, controlling a number of companies including the Gilbert S. Graves Company.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
National Starch Co.
ID Number
1979.0441.333
catalog number
1979.0441.333
accession number
1979.0441
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1919
ID Number
AG.58A06
catalog number
58A06
accession number
222860
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1858
ID Number
NU.NU65358
catalog number
NU65358
accession number
240108
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
ID Number
NU.69.127.134
catalog number
69.127.134
accession number
286471
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
ID Number
NU.69.127.738
catalog number
69.127.738
accession number
286471
This miniature Huber Traction engine model is a working steam model built by Mr. Raymond T. Stout in 1962.
Description
This miniature Huber Traction engine model is a working steam model built by Mr. Raymond T. Stout in 1962. “Live” steam toys were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th century, model tractors and engines were considered children’s playthings, helping them learn engineering principles at an early age. This is a model of a 1901 Huber Traction engine, a steam-powered tractor that could be used to haul a load, or power machinery by attaching a belt to the engine’s flywheel.
date made
1950 - 1959
ID Number
AG.65A02
accession number
261334
catalog number
65A02
This steam-powered cotton gin, usually called a ginstand, was produced by F. H. Lummus and Sons of Columbus, Georgia. It employed a system of 80 twelve-inch saws, a pneumatic elevator, and a single-cylinder feeder.
Description
This steam-powered cotton gin, usually called a ginstand, was produced by F. H. Lummus and Sons of Columbus, Georgia. It employed a system of 80 twelve-inch saws, a pneumatic elevator, and a single-cylinder feeder. It also used a single-stand condenser, which collected the lint (cotton) as it came out of a flue and discharged it in mat form. The mat of cotton lint was then put into a compress. This machine was manufactured around 1900.
The Lummus gin and compress could produce one and a half bales of cotton every hour, or as many as 15 bales in a twelve-hour workday. Steam whistles signaled the beginning of a new day of ginning.
Much information about the construction of the shed that housed the gin has been lost, but it may date to the 1880s. When land development threatened the structure, the owner contacted the Smithsonian about the 80-saw ginstand. Lummus Industries restored the gin.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
maker
F. H. Lummus Sons Co
ID Number
1990.0344.01
catalog number
1990.0344.01
accession number
1990.0344
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
ID Number
NU.69.127.426
catalog number
69.127.426
accession number
286471
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1888
ID Number
NU.69.127.348
catalog number
69.127.348
accession number
286471
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1897
ID Number
NU.69.127.614
catalog number
69.127.614
accession number
286471
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968
maker
Plowden, David
ID Number
1986.0711.0714
accession number
1986.0711
catalog number
1986.0711.0714
A poster sponsored by the United States Departmentof Agriculture with examples of how to control the Wheat Jointworm.
Description
A poster sponsored by the United States Departmentof Agriculture with examples of how to control the Wheat Jointworm.
date made
1967
associated institution
U.S. Department of Agriculture
maker
U.S. Department of Agriculture
ID Number
ZZ.RSN81724Y41
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1899
ID Number
NU.69.127.1057
catalog number
69.127.1057
accession number
286471
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1897
ID Number
NU.66.28887
catalog number
66.28887
accession number
270424

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.