Wheatland Plow Match Association Records

Over two hundred people attended the first Wheatland Plow Match held on September 22, 1877.  Judged on the straightness and uniform depth of their furrows and the number of weeds left uncovered, the plowing contestants competed for seven cash prizes totaling forty-four dollars.  Shortly after the match, the Wheatland Plow Match Association organized and elected James Patterson president.  Over the years, the annual plowing match became an event comparable to a county fair.  The Association continually added new events to the basic plowing competition including a colt show (1881), baseball game (1886), Women’s Fair for exhibiting cooking and sewing (1887), and a chicken show (1894).  Carnival booths, airplane rides, and farm equipment displays also appeared.  The increase in attractions pushed attendance as high as 18,000 in 1921 and lured people from states as far away as Arizona.  Although an outdoor event, the Association officials cancelled only one Wheatland Plow Match for inclement weather (1961).  Other incidents, such as World War I and II, the Chicago World’s Fair (1893), and Patterson’s absence (1884), forced seven additional cancellations.  In 1976, the board members voted to make the centennial plow match the last year for the event.  Presently, the Wheatland Plow Match Association continues to meet in an attempt to determine the disposition of the Association’s land. In 1990 the original Wheatland Plowing Match Association and Farmer’s Committee of the Naperville river walk project combined their efforts, funds, and knowledge to form a new organization that would be dedicated to preserving the area’s rural heritage, it would be called the “New” Wheatland Plowing Match Association. This new organization covers Wheatland, DuPage, Lisle, Oswego, Plainfield, and Naperville.

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