State of the Art Burrall Corn Sheller

By Leslie C. Mcmanus
Published on July 5, 2012
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Whether by accident or design, the Burrall name is misspelled on this rare Munnsville Plow Co. No. 10 sheller. The piece also shows a commonly used but invalid patent date of March 14, 1863.
Whether by accident or design, the Burrall name is misspelled on this rare Munnsville Plow Co. No. 10 sheller. The piece also shows a commonly used but invalid patent date of March 14, 1863.
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Vintage corn shellers and signs fill the loft in Chuck Heckroth’s barn.
Vintage corn shellers and signs fill the loft in Chuck Heckroth’s barn.
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The Burrall corn sheller was a breakthrough in corn processing equipment.
The Burrall corn sheller was a breakthrough in corn processing equipment.
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A rare Burrall sheller made by Keystone Farm Machine Works, York, Penn. 
A rare Burrall sheller made by Keystone Farm Machine Works, York, Penn. 
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A Gould’s No. 2 Burrall sheller, the most common of the Burrall shellers. This piece also shows the invalid March 14, 1863, patent date.
A Gould’s No. 2 Burrall sheller, the most common of the Burrall shellers. This piece also shows the invalid March 14, 1863, patent date.
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Manufactured by W.D. Burrall (presumably a relative of T.D. Burrall), Waterloo, N.Y., this sheller carries the correct March 24, 1863 patent date.
Manufactured by W.D. Burrall (presumably a relative of T.D. Burrall), Waterloo, N.Y., this sheller carries the correct March 24, 1863 patent date.
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Fashioned in the same style as Burralls built by New York Plow Co., this sheller has exceptional original paint but no patent date or manufacturer’s name.
Fashioned in the same style as Burralls built by New York Plow Co., this sheller has exceptional original paint but no patent date or manufacturer’s name.
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A Canadian-made Burrall with beaver and maple leaves, produced by James Smart Mfg. Co., Ltd., Brockville, Ontario.
A Canadian-made Burrall with beaver and maple leaves, produced by James Smart Mfg. Co., Ltd., Brockville, Ontario.
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Chuck has no proof, but he believes this sheller was the inspiration for Thomas Burrall’s 1845 “improvement in corn shellers.” The piece is cast with “Adriance” and “P’T Po’ke’psie,” likely a forerunner of Adriance, Platt & Co., Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Chuck has no proof, but he believes this sheller was the inspiration for Thomas Burrall’s 1845 “improvement in corn shellers.” The piece is cast with “Adriance” and “P’T Po’ke’psie,” likely a forerunner of Adriance, Platt & Co., Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
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This envelope from Downs & Co. Mfg. Co., Seneca Falls, N.Y., shows the famed Burrall sheller.
This envelope from Downs & Co. Mfg. Co., Seneca Falls, N.Y., shows the famed Burrall sheller.

In an era when satellites steer tractors, it’s hard to imagine the days when an improved corn sheller represented cutting-edge technology. But in the 1840s, a corn sheller manufactured by Thomas D. Burrall, Geneva, N.Y., did just that.

“In the 1840s, most shellers did not separate the cob from the corn,” explains collector Chuck Heckroth, Dryden, Mich. “Burrall was perhaps the first to invent a sheller that did.” In use, shellers of the 1840s simply deposited cobs and kernels in a pile on the ground. The working mechanisms of most were fully exposed and made no accommodation for a bucket to catch the corn.

Patented in 1845, the Burrall sheller was an important improvement in corn shellers. Decades later, it remained a hot commodity. “Even after 1900, it was still shown in the Farm Implement News Buyers Guide as being produced by a number of companies,” Chuck says. Replacement parts were offered by Messinger Mfg. Co., Tatamy, Pa., as recently as 1948.

Booming business

Thomas D. Burrall Mfg. Co. was established in about 1812 in Geneva. Burrall designed and produced threshing machines, cultivators, corn shellers, plows, mowers, reapers and a drill that applied seed and manure in a single operation.

In 1855, with a workforce of 40, Burrall Mfg. produced 250 reapers and other implements with a total value of $30,000 (approximately $770,000 today).

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