This is another of those machines that farmers, in this case potato farmers, were undoubtedly elated and overjoyed to see come to market. This machine was able to dig potatoes by sliding a large knife under the potatoes in the ground, then elevating potatoes and dirt up a chain link belt, through which the dirt, but not the potatoes, fell. After the dirt had fallen out, the potatoes were simply dumped back on top of the ground, ready to be picked up. It was a very clever and very successful piece of machinery.
The machine was made by the Dowden Manufacturing Company of Prairie City, Iowa and was patented in 1885.
The museum is on Round Butte Road at the corner of 6th Avenue NW. on the west edge of the town of Ronan, MT.
The Dowden Manufacturing Company was started by Ashford Dowden in 1887 in Prairie City, Iowa, located just east of Des Moines. They were a very self sufficient company, having their own foundry, paint line, shipping, etc. All their production machinery was powered by steam power originally. They produced a number of items , but were best known for the potato digger. Ashford Dowden received a patent for his potato digger in 1885, and decided to start Dowden manufacturing in Prairie City, since at that time Prairie City was one of largest potato shipping centers in the U.S.
The Dowden potato digger was soon known as the foremost potato digger in the country. Because of their success, they soon started building potato sorters and potato seed cutters also. By the 1940's, potato production had moved west to Montana and Idaho, and Dowden manufacturing started producing other types of machinery. This included wagons, wagon hoists, silage blowers, and of course, the foot feed for the Ford tractors.
By 1952, another company had purchased all of the Dowden stock, and started using the facilities to manufacture packing house equipment. In 1962, they were bought out again by yet another company. In 1980 they sold the buildings, and that was the official end of Dowden Manufacturing.
From Red Rock Mfg.