Late 19th to Early 20th Century One-row Walking Cultivator

 Although there are no clear identifying marks, this one-row walking cultivator may have been assembled by Deere & Company in Moline, Illinois. The only potential identifying marks are a star next to the words "malleable iron" on several individual parts to this implement. These malleable iron parts may have been formed by the Union Malleable Iron Company, a supplier of many parts for John Deere implements. Founded in 1872 in East Moline, Illinois, the Union Malleable Iron Company moved into a new factory in nearby Moline, Illinois, sometime around the turn of the century. In 1911, Deere & Company acquired Union in a merger, allowing Union to make parts for other companies after it had met the needs of Deere.
 As with the other cultivators in Stuhr Museum's exhibit, this tool played an important role in the crop growing process. If a farmer did not cultivate between the rows of crops, the weeds and other unwanted plants could overwhelm the crop plants. Those unwanted plants would consume nutrients and potentially smother the crop plants, especially early in the growing season.
 Farmers typically cultivated their fields three to five times, depending on weather, soil condition, and the persistence of unwanted plants. Many cultivators were built to pass over crops that were about a foot-and-a-half tall, giving those crop plants a great opportunity to thrive when the unwanted plants were no longer being dug up.
 As you can see by looking at the six examples in Stuhr Museum's exhibit, cultivators came in a variety of shapes and sizes. You might group them into a number of different categories: one-row and two-row, tongued and tongueless, walking and riding, shovel and disc. If you venture out to Railroad Town at the museum, you might even notice a double-shovel, a predecessor to the cultivator, near one of the old cabins.

Notes

A short narrative of the history of the Union Malleable Iron Company can be found here.