Photographs (69), no date

The records in this collection partially document the history of the Wheatland Plow Match Association from 1898-1978. Complete materials from the first fifty-five years at the organization’s existence, 1877-1921, are missing. Nevertheless, the surviving records, particularly the meeting minutes, provide information on the Association’s discussions about each match program, the possibility of changing plow rules, decisions on the amount of prize money to be awarded, and nominations and elections of officers. The Association’s correspondence reveals those agencies contacted to provide annual match advertisements. Programs, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, and photographs depict match activities, the contests and their winners, and the Ladies’ Fair. The Wheatland Plow Match Association, one of the oldest outdoor farming event organizers in the United States, furnished exciting and competitive recreational activities for thousands of people. These records provide a unique opportunity for research on this common form of rural entertainment. The Regional History Center holds two other collections documenting outdoor recreational associations: Kishwaukee Audubon Society Records (RC 107) and Princeton Game and Fish Club Records (RC 113). Researchers also should note that Box 1, Folders 1-3 contain brief histories of the Wheatland Plow Match Association.