Hand Corn Planter, 1890

01

Artifact Overview

Beginning in the 1850s, farmers could plant corn by jabbing the metal tip of this planter into the ground. Activating the lever would drop the seeds into the hole. This device may have sped up planting, but it remained a tool for small acreage farms or planting areas missed by horse-drawn mechanical seed drills.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Corn planter

Date Made

circa 1890

Place of Creation

Location

at Greenfield Village in Soybean Lab Agricultural Gallery

Object ID

00.3.16428

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Wood (Plant material)
Iron (Metal)
Tin (Metal)

Dimensions

Height: 32 in
Width: 7 in
Depth: 6 in