The wrap-up for the conference included a bus tour to the Museums at Prophetstown. I elected to drive myself, because the destination was sort of on the way home, and I didn't want to backtrack. Besides, bus tours don't allow for the meandering and lollygagging that I'm prone to do.

Very carefully, now …
After the harvest
The towns of Battle Ground, named for the Battle of Tippecanoe, and Harrisonville, named for William Henry Harrison, Governor of Indiana Territory, were consolidated in 1867 under the name of Battle Ground.
Business opportunity
Handyman's delight
From the Battle Ground web site: In the late summer and fall of 1811, William Henry Harrison, then Governor of the Indiana Territory, organized a military expedition against the increasing menace of the federation of Indian tribes being formed by the Shawnee brothers, Tecumseh and Elskatawwa-The Prophet. With the Prophet’s Town as his objective, General Harrison marched from Vincennes at the head of a small army of about one thousand men. General Harrison met with representatives of the Prophet on November 6th 1811, when he arrived at Prophet’s Town, and told them of the demands he brought in the name of his government. General Harrison was to meet with the Prophet and his council the next day about the demands of the government. General Harrison then set up his encampment on a ridge about a mile northwest of Prophet’s Town. Fearing the cunning and treachery of the Prophet, General Harrison placed his troops in battle formation , instructed his men to sleep fully clothed, and assigned a large detail of men for sentinel duty. On the morning of November 7th 1811, after 4 o’clock AM, the camp was attacked by the Prophet. After a fierce battle, General Harrison and his army defeated the Prophet’s Indian confederation, and all but ended the Indian wars in the Midwest.

Museums at Prophetstown - This location represents a working 1920's farmstead.
The first house is a Sears, Roebuck catalog house from about 1919 that has been relocated and is being restored.

Model T Ford in the garage
Threshing machine in the shed
1925 McCormick Deering 10-20 tractor. These were brutal to drive compared with later tractors, but rugged and popular among Midwestern farmers.
One piece of machinery in the shed is a little out of the time period – the device with the round funnel-shaped dust collector on top is a hammermill, used to grind feed for livestock. It's a lot more efficient than any of the older machines used for the same purpose, though.
Mama cat looks pretty blissed-out, but those kittens look pretty big to still be nursing. Time to give them the boot and start another litter.
Farm power and the fuel that keeps it running
Day's end, and time to say goodbye
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