My brother, Frank Smith, Clearfield, Pa., has an Iron Age
cultivator like the one pictured on page 5 of the April 2006 issue
of Farm Collector. The name is cast on the frame where the
cultivator shoes are attached (“Iron” on one side, “Age” on the
other). Frank also has a corn planter attachment for the
cultivator. Instead of a horizontal disc to distribute the seed, it
has a vertical wheel with four brushes to push out the seed. The
wheel and some of the heavier parts of the framework have traces of
glossy black paint, and there is a trace of a decal on the front of
the corn hopper. Of course the cultivator shoes would be removed
when the planter was attached, and missing is a drive chain that
attached to the sprocket at the side of the planter.
wheel and some of the heavier parts of the framework have traces of
glossy black paint, and there is a trace of a decal on the front of
the corn hopper. Of course the cultivator shoes would be removed
when the planter was attached, and missing is a drive chain that
attached to the sprocket at the side of the planter.
It has been on the family farm since our great-grandfather’s
time, and we think it dates to about 1910 to 1920.
About the only other thing I can tell you for sure is that I
raised more blisters pushing it than I care to remember.
– Rosemary Smith
Clearfield, Pa.
