I have enclosed information on the “Folding Sawing Machine” found in the 1893 Montgomery Ward & Co. Farm Machinery catalog. The catalog, along with over 18,000 pieces of reference material including photographs, books and postcards related to pre-1950 agricultural history of South Dakota, is part of the South Dakota State Agricultural Museum’s archives. This extensive reference collection not only covers farming practices, but also how farm families lived and survived in the early South Dakota territory. Included in this is the Beckman Archives, a 5,000-piece collection of tractor, equipment literature and operator’s manuals dating from the 1850s to the 1960s. It focuses on the agricultural equipment of the central plains region. Photocopies are available.
Bill Lee, State Agricultural Heritage Museum, SDSU, Box 2207C, Brookings, SD 57017-0999; (605) 688-6226; email: SDSU_agmuseum@sdstate.edu.
