Down on the farm, 1800s style
Antique Farm Show May 7 at New Salem explains life on the farm during Lincoln’s day

[May 05, 2016]  PETERSBURG  -  Horse-drawn plows, historic farming equipment and agricultural techniques from Abraham Lincoln’s day will be on display Saturday, May 7, at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site near Petersburg.

The free event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is co-sponsored by the New Salem Lincoln League.

Visitors are invited to come and watch plows work the fields in the village of Lincoln’s New Salem. Central Illinois farmers who still use horses for farming will be on hand with their horse teams and antique equipment to demonstrate early plowing, planting and other agricultural work. The fieldwork demonstrations will be held weather permitting.

A display of historic farming equipment will be set up by the Blacksmith Shop near the entrance to the village, letting visitors learn about agricultural developments from Abraham Lincoln’s time to the early 1900s. The Vintage Ag Association of Menard County will have an antique tractor display in the parking lot by the Visitor Center.

Lincoln’s New Salem is a reconstruction of the 1830s log village where Abraham Lincoln spent six years of his life. It is located about 20 miles northwest of Springfield and two miles south of Petersburg on Route 97.

The site is operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (www.IllinoisHistory.gov). IHPA protects the state’s historic resources, which contribute to education, culture and the economy. IHPA sites include ancient burial mounds, forts and buildings erected by settlers, and homes connected to famous Illinoisans.

[Ed Whitcomb]