Early Farm Implements
by Dave Hanes
"I enjoy writing, taking photographs of historic places and travelling the back roads of New York State and Ontario. Most of my family now reside in New York State at the start of the Catskill Mountains, close to Howe Caverns.
"Spectacular scenery abounds, streams, reservoirs, forests, waterfalls and the rugged mountains and valleys in Schoharie County. As I drive the highways and narrow back roads I am rewarded with many old farms and homes to photograph. Many of the old towns I pass through date back into the 1700s and early 1800s. On occasion I spot an old implement amongst weeds, beside an old stone or rail fence, or out in the middle of a pasture. Although they are not used anymore at least they are still real and close examination shows the ingenuity of those implement builders from time long ago.
"Yes, modern farm equipment is bigger, faster and can get the job done so much quicker-unless it breaks down! But even though the modern equipment is necessary in today's world as the population has exploded, to me modern implements are all "huff and puff" with no "character", and certainly not loved and cared for the way the farmers did over 100 years ago.
"Throughout upper and middle New York State I was able to take many photos of those old abandoned implements. Such is not the case here in Ontario. Sad but true, some years ago the price for steel spiked and then a parade of trucks hauling everything from old stoves, fridges, cars, trucks and unfortunately, old solid steel farm implements. During those times much of our farming history disappeared, forever.
"I have been fortunate to photograph enough old implements to be able to produce this book, dedicated to the farmer and his implements from a bygone era. I will continue to travel the back roads and photograph as many of these historic machines scattered in fields as possible."
Go Here for Table of Contents
ISBN: 9781894747172 | WMPub# 1055 | 8" x 8"
98 pages with full colour photos | $24.95
Table of Contents
Early Farm Implements ~Pictorial Memories of Pioneer Implements
3 Dedication
4 Farmers Tilled the Land, They Planted the Seed, They Harvested the Bounty
5 Introduction
6 The Farmer
Wheels, Wagons & Sleighs
7 The Common Buggy or Wagon Wheel
9 The Steel Wheel
11 The Wheels And The Gear Box
12 The Farm Utility Wagon
13 Hand Made Sleigh, Bessemer Road
14 Multi Purpose Wagon, Rockingham Ontario
15 The Sturdy Old Sleigh, Route 5, Schoharie County. N.Y.
16 Old Wooden Utility Cart, New York State
17 Long Tongue And Wooden Wheels, Maine Highway #9
18 Extendable Pole Wagon, Snow Road, Bancroft, Ontario
19 A Peaceful Place To Rest
Preparing the Land: Ploughs, Cultivators, Discs & Spreaders
20 Built To Break Ground
21 The Single Furrow Plough
22 Left To Rot And Rust
23 Almost Buried Amongst The Weeds
24 The Red Paint Has Faded
25 More Levers To Play With
26 Restored To Its Former Glory
27 Four-Tined Light Duty Plough
28 Single Furrow Plough, Schoharie County, N.Y.
29 Small Two-Furrow Plough, Maine
30 Two Furrow Gang Plough
31 Plough Shares, Highway 28 East Of Bancroft, Ontario
32 Plough, Near Broomecentre, N.Y.
33 Single Furrow Plough, St. Ola Road
34 Cultivators And Plough, Nova Scotia
35 Set Of Discs, Highway 9, Maine
36 Set Of Harrows, Rural Nova Scotia
37 Steel Wheeled Cultivator
38 Adjustable Cultivator, Near Perth Ontario
39 Cultivator Along A Rural Highway In Nova Scotia
40 Manure Spreader, Highway 118 West Of Bancroft, Ontario
41 All Steel Manure Spreader, Musclow Road, Bancroft Area
Planting
42 Seed Drill Sitting In Roadside Park
43 Seed Drill Abandoned Amongst Scrap And Debris
44 Seed Drill Protected And Sheltered, Peacock Farm Lower Faraday Road, Bancroft Area
45 Seed Planter Restored
46 Long Box Seed Drill
47 Seed Drill, Schoharie County, N.Y.
48 Seed Drill, Route 7, Schoharie County, New York State
49 Seed Drill, Mohawk Valley, N.Y.
Hay Time: Feeding the Animals that Fed the People
50 The Hay Rake
51 Hay Loader And Rake Left Unused In A Valley
52 The Threshing Machine
52 The Monster Shared By Many Farmers
53 Steel Wheeled Riding Mower
54 Old Mower, Rural Nova Scotia
55 Heavy Duty Brush Mower
56 Windrow Hay And Straw Rake, Route 10, N.Y. Mennonite Country
57 Hay Rake And Small Shed, McMunn Farm, Bessemer Road
58 Mennonite Country, Route 10, New York State
59 Riding Hay Rake
60 Restored And Sitting In A Beautiful Garden South Of Hagar, ON
61 The Old Hay Baler, Schoharie County, N.Y.
62 Hay Rake, Keyser Kill Near Broomecentre, Schoharie County. N.Y.
63 Flat Creek Road Near Broomecentre- Implement Graveyard
64 Hay Loader, Lower Hybla Road, Bancroft Area
65 Hay Loader, Lower Faraday Road
66 Hay Rakes
67 Tucked Neatly On A Hillside Highway 9 Maine
Special Machines for Special Crops
68 The Corn And Potato Planters
69 Early Potato Planter, Nova Scotia
70 Potato Seed Planter, New York State
71 Potato Seed Planter And Seed Cups On Chain Link Belt, Highway 535, Sudbury, ON
72 Close Up of the Seed Cups
73 Potato Planter, Lawrence Lord's Old Farm Museum, Maine
74 Potato Planter, Lawrence Lord's Old Farm Museum, Maine
75 Potato Planter, Lawrence Lord's Old Farm Museum, Maine
76 Corn Seed Planter, Route 7 East Of Cobleskill, N.Y.
77 Corn Seed Planter, Schoharie Valley, N.Y.
78 Old Corn Seed Planter, Route 13, New York State
79 Seed And Grass Seed Rollers Alongside Highway 2, New Hampshire
80 The Potato Digger
81 Pre-1900 Potato Digger, Bonfield, South Of Highway 17 East
82 Early Potato Digger, Hagar Area, East Of Sudbury, ON
83 Pair Of Ptato Diggers, Route 13, N.Y.
84 Old Potato Digger, Rural Highway Nova Scotia
85 Early Potato Digger, Highway 9 Maine
87 Potato Digger And Black Horses In Fresh Snow, Route 13, N.Y.
Still A Mystery
88 Shrubs Grow Up Through This Unidentified Implement
89 Unknown Implement, North Eastern Ontario
90 Strange Wheeled Implement, Upper New York State
New Uses for Old Machines
91 The Plough, The Windmill, The Little Planter
92 Unique Post For The Mail Box
From The Collection At Lawrence Lord's Old Farm Museum, Highway 9, Maine
93 An Early Potato Digger
94 Two-Furrow Riding Plough
94 Old Riding Hay Mower
95 Riding Potato Digger
96 Single Box Seed Planter
97 Steel-wheeled Manure Spreader
98 Sleigh in Roadside Park, Highway 9, Maine