The history of the American Farm Heritage Museum:

One man's dream became a reality when a group of men sitting in the coffee shop, most of them being farmers, talked about this dream - building a museum to preserve the farm heritage. Sixty some people; farmers, collectors, and civic leaders, held a meeting to share their ideas with the public in April of 2002. It was agreed that Bond County, being almost in the middle of the state and right along I-70, would be the perfect place. Meetings were held, fund raisers were held, ideas were passed around. The land for the museum was decided on and a name for the museum happened in 2002.

The American Farm Heritage Museum was going to sit on seventeen acres along Interstate 70 just east of the Route 127 overpass. It would preserve, promote and share the heritage of America's rural life; living, farming and travel. One very generous family purchased the land and then leased it for ninety nine years to the American Farm Heritage Museum, NFP organization. This happened in 2003.

After a year of planning, there was a dream building (one hundred by three hundred feet) with a gambrel roof, a large meeting room that would sub as a show room, three smaller display rooms, a gift shop and offices. The upstairs would house a research room and literature. They wanted the machinery displayed with wall art depicting the use of the piece of machinery in the display. Tractors and equipment, cars, trucks, fire engines, barn displays, household items and a small village depicting churches, schools, general store, tool sheds, blacksmith shop etc. were all in the plans. Hopefully down the line individuals would build a building to house their collections.

There was no way the group of 100 family members could put up the dream building (one hundred wide and three hundred feet long), so they opted for a thirty by sixty gambrel roof barn. It was finished just days before the first Heritage Days show on July 29, 30, and 31, 2004. Everyone found it hard to believe the group could put up a building in such a short time.

In the winter of 2005, one of the members found a truck terminal building in St. Louis that the owners would give the museum if we took it down. Several members went to work and got the job done. Moved it all to the museum grounds and stacked it in order to put it back up. A member of the organization put up a fifty by one-hundred building. Membership had grown to 150 families. By this time the Farm Heritage Days II was well into the planning stage.

There would be no specific tractor featured. All colors, shapes, and condition were welcomed. There were parades, tractor pulls, field demonstrations, entertainment, demonstrations of interest to the women, hand operated tools and plenty for the kids to do. About two thousand people showed up for the show.

In October, museum members sponsored a Family Fall Festival. Games, costume contests, food, and hay rides made the day for all the ghost and goblins and their parents. Kids went home with memories of a good time and a bag full of goodies.

The train division was formed by a group of train enthusiast. The group acquired a 15 gauge train with engine, riding cars, and a caboose. Working fervently through the winter of 2005, the train division managed to get the new train painted and cleaned up. The group put it on the tracks just in time for the 2006 Farm Heritage Days show, with thousands of people arriving to enjoy a short ride on the train.

2006 rolled around. Max Armstrong was the featured speaker for a banquet type dinner. Activities for the coming year were: A chili supper, pancake breakfast, tractor drive, dairy day displays and the new/old building was going up, and another fall festival was being planned. Everything was successful and kept the name of the museum in front of the public.

The men worked hard during July of 2006 in the 100 degree weather to get the sandblasting, priming and painting done and the roof on the donated building. Once again just in time for the Farm Heritage Days Show 2006 the last nail was driven Three thousand people attended the Farm Heritage Days this year. Case was the featured tractor and there were several of them on the grounds with equipment to go along. A total of five hundred pieces of equipment were at the show representing all the tractor brands. There were steam engines pulling plows along side the tractors, tractors parading the grounds, tractor and garden tractor pulls, threshing, a saw mill, ladies demonstrations and a wide variety of vendors. The temperature was 100 degrees in the shade. This years show will be remembered by the HEAT! and the good time had by all.

In October, outhouses appeared on the grounds. The museum was the talk of the interstate and town. What was happening? A one-of-a-kind "Outhouse Festival." There were 10 out houses built and painted to fit different themes. Camouflaged, nascar, dairy cows, log cabins, a grain bin and a jail were just a few. It proved to be an interesting day. Trivia, ball tosses, stuff the outhouse, and dozens of other games were played. This all accompanied a craft show and the Family Fall Festival for the kids. Added this year were horse and wagon rides and a hay ride to the pumpkin patch. Pictures can now be viewed on the photos page.

As of January 2007, there were more than 212 families that are active members of the museum. We have members in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and many other states.

To keep the museum going strong , a nine-member board of directors oversees the day-to-day operations of the museum. The board includes a president, a vice-president, and seven board members.

The museum also relies on the labor of hundreds of volunteers. If you would like to volunteer to lend a hand on one of our many projects, please e-mail amheritagemuseum@yahoo.com.

At the AFHM, we believe in working together to keep the past alive. By preserving tractors and holding our annual Heritage Days program, we are able to show a younger generation what life was like for us, for our parents, and for our parent's parents.

We believe there is a great deal to be said for the generations of farmers who worked the land year after year. Our museum is a tribute to their hard work.

The AFHM is always looking for new members, help, and donations of items for the museum. Of course, we won't say no to a monetary donation either. The museum is a nonprofit organization and can give a tax write-off receipt for all donations.

If you would like to join our cause and volunteer to help, please email us at amheritagemuseum@yahoo.com.