location of mccormick reaper works chicago 1900

The “Daisy” reaper can be folded for storage and for transport from field to field when necessary. “McCormick” is still visible in the stenciling on the swath board. This particular reaper was built around 1900 and is all original, even down to the wooden toolbox. The only thing missing when we bought it was the seat bracket and pan, but we were able to eventually track down an original. 12, 2013 (Dad’s birthday), the reaper was put back together and, to my surprise, we hadn’t lost or misplaced a piece. After becoming acquainted with the Old Glade Antique Tractor Association (OGATA), I decided to see if I could get a few club members to come over and help us get it back together. Unfortunately, it stayed in this condition for about 10 years stacked up against the wall in our shop. We ended up buying a McCormick “Daisy” reaper, but we had to mostly disassemble it in order to haul in the bed of the truck. Of course, when we got there and saw the great selection, we knew we had messed up by not bringing a trailer.

We went to a vintage equipment auction several years ago with no real intention of buying anything because it was so far away from home. A farmer could harvest around 2 to 3 acres per day using a cradle. The cradle was a very labor-intensive, handheld tool with a long blade and long wooden teeth to catch and hold the grain so it could be laid gently on the ground after it was cut. This invention was essential to increasing productivity for the farmer while also decreasing farm labor by replacing the “cradle.” McCormick later took the business west to Chicago, Illinois, eventually becoming International Harvester, to gain access to better manufacturing facilities and farmers looking for new ways to harvest their crops. Virginia Tech now operates the McCormick Farm of 620 acres as the Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Research and Extension Center, and it’s also a National Historic Landmark.

Location of mccormick reaper works chicago 1900