Plow, Hillside
Object numberM71.49.1
Manufacturer
G. Weckbecker and Son
Date1880-1900
OriginHarmony, PA
MediumIron; Wood
Credit LineMeadowcroft Collection
DescriptionHillside plow with reversible moldboard.DimensionsHeight x Width x Length (With moldboard in proper right position): 34.75 × 26 × 83 in. (88.3 × 66 × 210.8 cm)InscriptionsMeadowcroft museum number at the base of the proper left handle is black ink on red-orange painted gound "71.49.1", some loss to number.
MarksRaised text on the concave side of the moldboard "WEST VIRGINIA / G. Weckbecker and Son / Harmony, PA".
Historical NotesDonated to the Meadowcroft Museum on September 13, 1971, by Charles Rouvie. A hillside plow is a walking plow with a reversible moldboard (the curved part which turns the furrow slice over to bury the surface organic matter). The purpose of the reversible moldboard is to allow the plow to work back and forth across a sloping field while throwing the furrow slice consistently in one direction (preferably uphill so the topsoil does not eventually end up all at the bottom of the hill). Without this feature, the plowman and draft animals would have to return to the same side of the field after plowing a furrow without plowing on his return trip—highly inefficient.
On View
Not on view
Savoy Press Manufacturing Company
1920-1969
c. 1773