HCHS to sponsor presentation on the 1957 World Plowing Contest
Lead Summary
By
Courtesy of John Kellis-
John Wickerham, lifelong resident of Adams County, will be presenting an account of the largest event ever held in southern Ohio, that being the 1957 “World Fair of Agriculture,” better known as the World Plowing Matches. The presentation will be held on Thursday, July 28 at 7 p.m. at the Highland House Museum.
The Wickerhams were one of the host families for the Exposition, around the Wickerham Inn on state Route 41 between Peebles and Locust Grove. John Wickerham worked as a young man, mowing the area for the event, and was also in charge of the water system that was installed just for this event.
Wickerham will give an account of the stories and experiences of a small town in rural Ohio that welcomed as many as 450,000 visitors to Adams County over a four-day period. It was the first time the world sent their national champion plowmen to the United States for this event. Fourteen countries sent plowmen to the competition.
During the event, the Ohio State, the US National and the World Plowing matches were all held on 2,500 acres of land that covered 16 farms. The matches included flatland plowing and contour plowing competitions. Hillsboro plowman Duane Mootz won the winner’s trophy for the national contour plowing event, which earned him a trip to the 1958 world matches in Ireland.
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Come hear how this rural area managed to host the 400,000-plus crowd and how they handled the traffic, parking and housing. There were no county water lines outside Peebles at the time and the Appalachian Highway did not exist, but there was a passenger train and bus service that ran through the county.
Demonstrating conservation practices were an equally important purpose for the Agricultural Fair, demonstrating new methods of conserving soil and water resources. Contour strip cropping, forestry practice, pasture seedings, fertilizer rate for crop and pasture production, pond construction and irrigation displays, spring development, sod waterways and wildlife habitat practices were all part of displays to help farmers become more efficient while preserving our Natural Resources.
The Country was not that far removed from the “Dust Bowl,” and improving the way we produced food and fiber in the US was essential. The state widened and improved area roads for the show, and traffic on 73 was halted when planes landed or took off, including IH’s DC-3. Come join the Highland County Historical Society to hear how our Adams County neighbors managed to pull this off 60 years ago.
The Wickerhams were one of the host families for the Exposition, around the Wickerham Inn on state Route 41 between Peebles and Locust Grove. John Wickerham worked as a young man, mowing the area for the event, and was also in charge of the water system that was installed just for this event.
Wickerham will give an account of the stories and experiences of a small town in rural Ohio that welcomed as many as 450,000 visitors to Adams County over a four-day period. It was the first time the world sent their national champion plowmen to the United States for this event. Fourteen countries sent plowmen to the competition.
During the event, the Ohio State, the US National and the World Plowing matches were all held on 2,500 acres of land that covered 16 farms. The matches included flatland plowing and contour plowing competitions. Hillsboro plowman Duane Mootz won the winner’s trophy for the national contour plowing event, which earned him a trip to the 1958 world matches in Ireland.
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Come hear how this rural area managed to host the 400,000-plus crowd and how they handled the traffic, parking and housing. There were no county water lines outside Peebles at the time and the Appalachian Highway did not exist, but there was a passenger train and bus service that ran through the county.
Demonstrating conservation practices were an equally important purpose for the Agricultural Fair, demonstrating new methods of conserving soil and water resources. Contour strip cropping, forestry practice, pasture seedings, fertilizer rate for crop and pasture production, pond construction and irrigation displays, spring development, sod waterways and wildlife habitat practices were all part of displays to help farmers become more efficient while preserving our Natural Resources.
The Country was not that far removed from the “Dust Bowl,” and improving the way we produced food and fiber in the US was essential. The state widened and improved area roads for the show, and traffic on 73 was halted when planes landed or took off, including IH’s DC-3. Come join the Highland County Historical Society to hear how our Adams County neighbors managed to pull this off 60 years ago.