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
New England Mill, c. 1905 by anonymous, gelatin silver print.Currently not on view
Description
New England Mill, c. 1905 by anonymous, gelatin silver print.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1905
Associated Date
1905
maker
Anonymous
ID Number
2013.0327.0018
catalog number
2013.0327.0018
accession number
2013.0327
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930s-1940s
ID Number
2013.0327.0650
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0650
Press print; from verso: "Young people helping to clear an area for cultivation, near Dodoma."Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Press print; from verso: "Young people helping to clear an area for cultivation, near Dodoma."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1980
maker
United Nations
ID Number
2013.0327.0243
catalog number
2013.0327.0243
accession number
2013.0327
A poster commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps. Authorized by Congress in 1962 more than 235,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps and served in 141 countries.
Description
A poster commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps. Authorized by Congress in 1962 more than 235,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps and served in 141 countries. They work with governments, schools, entrepeneurs in education, youth development, community health, business, information technology, environment, agriculture, as well as non-profit organizations.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2011
maker
Peace Corps
ID Number
2011.0228.03
accession number
2011.0228
catalog number
2011.0228.03
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940s
ID Number
2013.0327.1084
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1084
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Zalesky, Roy Joseph
ID Number
2017.0306.0110
accession number
2017.0306
catalog number
2017.0306.0110
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940s
ID Number
2013.0327.1071
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1071
two young boys; one holding a leather satchel in his left hand and a shovel in his right hand; the other holding a shovel over his left shoulder with a leather satchel hooked onto handle of shoveltwo young boys; one holding a leather satchel in his left hand and a shovel in his r
Description (Brief)
two young boys; one holding a leather satchel in his left hand and a shovel in his right hand; the other holding a shovel over his left shoulder with a leather satchel hooked onto handle of shovel
two young boys; one holding a leather satchel in his left hand and a shovel in his right hand; the other holding a shovel over his left shoulder with a leather satchel hooked onto handle of shovel
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930s-1940s
ID Number
2013.0327.0571
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0571
Press print; landscape print of a cotton field, mountains and sky in background;1940s by Office of War Information and Federal Works Agency, gelatin silver prints.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Press print; landscape print of a cotton field, mountains and sky in background;1940s by Office of War Information and Federal Works Agency, gelatin silver prints.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
maker
United States. Office of War Information
Federal Works Agency
ID Number
2013.0327.0558
catalog number
2013.0327.0558
accession number
2013.0327
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2017.0281.0126
accession number
2017.0281
catalog number
2017.0281.0126
Photograph: An agent from the Texas growers association selects braceros for distribution among his association members in Hidalgo, Texas.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: An agent from the Texas growers association selects braceros for distribution among his association members in Hidalgo, Texas.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.14.14
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.14.14
Photograph: A bracero places heads of lettuce in a Toro lettuce box in a field in the Salinas Valley, California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: A bracero places heads of lettuce in a Toro lettuce box in a field in the Salinas Valley, California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.34.15
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.34.15
Photograph: A vendor offers a liquid to the braceros who stand around him at a camp in the Salinas Valley, California.
Description
Photograph: A vendor offers a liquid to the braceros who stand around him at a camp in the Salinas Valley, California.
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.24.34
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.24.34
Photograph: A bracero family sits in their home in San Mateo, Mexico.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: A bracero family sits in their home in San Mateo, Mexico.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.08.01
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.08.01
Photograph: Standing on a truck, a bracero leans against a stack of Toro lettuce boxes in a field in the Salinas Valley, California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Standing on a truck, a bracero leans against a stack of Toro lettuce boxes in a field in the Salinas Valley, California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.40.25
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.40.25
Photograph: Standing on a truck, a bracero leans against a stack of Toro lettuce boxes in a field in the Salinas Valley, California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Standing on a truck, a bracero leans against a stack of Toro lettuce boxes in a field in the Salinas Valley, California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.40.22
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.40.22
Photograph: Braceros unpack their food and personal belongings as an inspector searches for contraband at the Hidalgo Processing Center, Texas.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Braceros unpack their food and personal belongings as an inspector searches for contraband at the Hidalgo Processing Center, Texas.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.02.34
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.02.34
Photograph: An official reviews a bracero's documents at the Monterrey Processing Center, Mexico.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: An official reviews a bracero's documents at the Monterrey Processing Center, Mexico.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.13.07
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.13.07
Photograph: A bus stands near braceros' living quarters at a camp in the Western United States.
Description
Photograph: A bus stands near braceros' living quarters at a camp in the Western United States.
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.30.19
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.30.19
Photograph: Braceros have dinner in a dining hall at a camp in California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Braceros have dinner in a dining hall at a camp in California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.28.19
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.28.19
Photograph: A bracero does his laundry in a bathroom at a camp in California.
Description
Photograph: A bracero does his laundry in a bathroom at a camp in California.
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.41.18
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.41.18
Photograph: Braceros enjoy an impromptu concert near the Monterrey Processing Center, Mexico.
Description
Photograph: Braceros enjoy an impromptu concert near the Monterrey Processing Center, Mexico.
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.16.02
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.16.02
Photograph: Showering facilities stand at a bracero camp in California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Showering facilities stand at a bracero camp in California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.42.05
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.42.05
Photograph: Braceros walk on a road between a pepper field and a lettuce field in the Salinas Valley, California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Braceros walk on a road between a pepper field and a lettuce field in the Salinas Valley, California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.40.35
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.40.35

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