Early Americana Exhibit

Early Americana: Planting and Harvesting Corn by Hand (1850s-1930s) This exhibit captures the time and tools between manually placing seeds into the ground and the high-tech mechanization of planting today. The early tools include grain seeders and hand corn planters with multiple mechanisms for release of the seeds. There is an extensive collection of husking pegs and husking hooks used when farmers hand-picked corn. The collection will be on display through February 2020. These artifacts from an Iowan farmer, James Montag, are shared courtesy of his daughter, Doris, a freelance curator from Iowa City. Doris creates traveling exhibits for museums and local libraries. She is currently exhibiting School Days at JCHS which is her mother’s collection of one room school house and early education artifacts. It is on display by the Blue Top Motel.

Access to the exhibit is included in the price of admission.

A wrist hook for husking corn.

Seed bag for planting corn.

A collection of wrist hooks, thumb stalls, and husking pegs.