This weekend was the annual Crossroads of Dixie Antique Tractor & Engine Club’s annual tractor show in Lawrenceburg! Did you get a chance to see it?

The tractor first came to Lawrence County around the turn of the 20th century. Local banker and philanthropist J.H. Stribling purchased a Russell Traction Engine to use on his farm and to haul cross ties for railroad construction.

Stribling was a proponent of agricultural experimentation. His farm was featured in magazines in the early 20th century for growing large yields using scientific farming methods. When Stribling purchased the Russell, Lawrence County’s farms were predominantly powered by mule as they had been for generations. The Russell was a steam-powered machine, and models in their 1890 catalog ran between 6 and 16 horsepower.

Russells were known for being incredibly heavy, but they could pull an impressive load. Photos here (courtesy of the Old Jail Museum) show Stribling’s Russell pulling loads of lumber, three empty wagons, and a gang plow (pictured separately).

The tractor symbolized a major shift in American agriculture. Its versatility, power, and eventual affordability literally and figuratively changed the landscape of rural America.

In 1900, almost every farmer in Lawrence County used methods and tools that would have been recognizable to their 18th-century ancestors. By 1950, however, there were 928 tractors in use on 22% of Lawrence County’s farms. Of those farms where tractors were in use by 1950, a full 1/3 relied solely on tractors with no horses or mules.

The culture of Lawrence County, like that of every other rural county in America, was changed forever by the tractor.

Do you have any cool tractor stories? Let us know in the comments!