"Tour de Farm" across the road from where I grew up.

[JRD77VET]

My former neighbor's family had a "Tour de Farm" at their family homestead. They have lived on the farm since they purchased it in the late 1730s

They had a lot of the old farm equipment out since they did a demonstration at the Apple Butter Frolic

They used this IHC Famous 4 hp to power the fodder ( silage) cutter you'll see later. This engine has a water pump and the water cascades over the screen to cool it.

4 hp Famous screen cooled - YouTube

This Challenge engine was purchased brand new in 1902 and was installed in this engine shed. It has lived it's entire life in that exact spot. It's a 5 hp Challenge engine and was used to pump water plus power a generator ( to recharge batteries ), power a saw buck ( large diameter saw to cut firewood ), run a wire rope down to the barn to power a washing machine, run a corn sheller, a feed mill and a fodder cutter. All those items were run one at a time off the overhead lineshaft in the engine shed. There is a pulley on the outside on each side.

5 HP Challenge engine in the same spot since 1902 - YouTube

Here is that engine in the engine shed powering the fodder cutter. Normally the corn would be green but with our crazy weather this year, the corn turned brown FAST.

cutting fodder with the 5 hp Challenge engine - YouTube

Here's an IHC 6 hp Famous

6 hp Famous - YouTube

and a rare upright 4 hp Otto engine.

4 hp upright Otto - YouTube

I'll post pictures in the following posts

[JRD77VET]

Here's some pictures of the barn on the inside. All the original timbers were pegged. The original barn was built in the 1720s. In the 1780s, the original barn was taken down, a stone foundation and walls built and the original timbers were used to enlarge the barn.

New boards were nailed in place but the beams were wooden pegged. That's my size 12 boot on that board. It's at least 16" wide.

[JRD77VET]

The family is Schwenkfelder religion and since the group of them who emigrated to this area, they built a meetinghouse / church to worship in. This meetinghouse dates back to before the Revolution. The stone church shown was built 1869 but there were a couple of log buildings that were on site since the 1720s.

The Schwenkfelders took schooling very seriously. If there was funeral service while school was in session, the services were held in the barn as to not disturb the children learning.

My late neighbor Sam donated the iron fencing around the cemetery. The original iron fence was in bad shape and someone thought it should be replaced with a wooden rail fence. That lasted a few decades and was falling down. Sam had this fence from his farm and paid to have it installed. He didn't quite have enough so he had some Amish craftsman duplicate the cast posts and ornamental pieces to finish it out.

They still have a couple services a year there plus some weddings.

[mrvette]

I been to York Pa. fairgrounds to some farm equipment shows, not so far from a little town called Shippensburg Pa. where my sis used to live.....

nice exhibits the old POP and BANG engines.....industry had to start somewhere, someHOW......neat history.....

then to see the Amish still driving the carriages......

[Brubie]

Neat and interesting.

[Grey Ghost]

I love all the old history in PA.

[JRD77VET]

Originally Posted by Grey Ghost

I love all the old history in PA.

There is plenty just from the area farms. In the cemetery pictured, there are eight soldiers who died in the Revolutionary War. Four of General Washington's high ranking Officers who were killed in the Battle of Germantown are buried in the Towamencin Mennonite Cemetery. ( right at the Lansdale exit of the NorthEast Extension of the PA Turnpike) That is just over 2 miles from the farm.

Sam's relatives owned what later became our family farm across the road. During the Revolution, the wife would write her sister in Germany describing what was happening. A few years ago, some of the original letters written in Old German were transcribed into English. She described how Washington's troops were camped in the fields and in the barn. They were burning fence posts to keep warm and using the hay and straw to feed and bed the horses. They were sharing their food with them and thought they would have enough food to last until spring.

General Washington stayed at the Delp farm just over a mile away. His troops stayed in the barn and had carved their initials into some of the timbers. ( the barn was torn down in the 1970s and I don't know if any of those timber carvings were saved)

When Sam was young ( early 1930s), his dad showed him the stump of a very large tree by Mainland ( just north of the Delp farm and Towamencin Mennonite Church ) where a spy was hanged for treason during the Revolution.

[JRD77VET]

Sam's family farm used to have a stone "safe building". It was thick stone walls with narrow slots at each corner just wide enough to get a flintlock thru.

Sam's Dad had him tear it down when he was young. In the walls there was an unfired bullet ( over .60 caliber ) that had teeth marks in it.

The family house was built on top of a spring. That allowed them to keep milk cooled plus have drinking water without going outside ( and dealing with Indians).

The spring still runs today

[Bill]

Very cool stuff. When we thing of historic things in Houston, we're talking about the Astrodome. It's interesting how 200 year old stuff made of wood is still standing.

[Sea Six]

Very cool

[JRD77VET]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

Very cool stuff. When we thing of historic things in Houston, we're talking about the Astrodome. It's interesting how 200 year old stuff made of wood is still standing.

A lot of the timbers were American Chestnut. It's straighter grained than Oak and therefore hold it's shape better. Holding its shape means the joints stay tighter. A big plus is it always had a good roof on it.

[simpleman68]

Originally Posted by JRD77VET

A lot of the timbers were American Chestnut. It's straighter grained than Oak and therefore hold it's shape better. Holding its shape means the joints stay tighter. A big plus is it always had a good roof on it.

Years ago I remember an older historian telling me about a turn of the century (early 1900s) Chestnut blight. Said it was the reason so many of the homes had mouldings made of it.
Shame so many folks painted over them.

One of my rental properties in Bethlehem has a 40" wide front door that I believe is Chestnut.
Scott