36 HP Rumley Steamer - Amory, MS - Old Tractors on Waymarking.com

County of tractor: Monroe County
location of tractor: 6th Ave. (US 278) & main St., Ajax Storage, Amory

"Beginning with the blacksmith shop of German immigrant Meinrad Rumely (1823-1904), this successive family of firms invented and produced a line of agricultural equipment that played a vital role in the evolution of farming based on the muscle of humans and animals to one based on the power of the steam and ultimately the internal-combustion engine. The M. & J. Rumely Co. became the M. Rumely Co., and then the Advance Rumely Co. The Allis-Chalmers Company acquired the business in 1931. Although Allis-Chalmers is known for other products, such as gas engines and turbines, the company today is one of the country's largest producer of plows, discs, harrows, planters, self-propelled cotton strippers and cultivators. The 112-acre plant, which includes some of the original Rumely buildings, is located on Pine Lake Ave. A memorial stone, which includes ASME's landmark plaque, marks the original site of the blacksmith shop at La Porte Hospital (since 1972) on Lincolnway.

"In the United States, the mechanization of farming took place mid-19th century, alongside the rapid developments of the Industrial Revolution. Profound changes have taken place since then. (From 1776 to 1908, the labor required to produce a bushel of wheat decreased from 2-3 hours to 10 minutes, according Dr. Edward Rumely in his autobiography. In the last 100 years, according to US Dept. of Agriculture's farm labor statistics, the farm population dropped from some 40 percent of the U.S. population to less than 3 percent.) Such equipment, from tractors and cultivators to a wide variety of harvesting machinery, has enabled an explosion in agricultural productivity for both food and fibers. In the process, agricultural mechanization also contributed to a massive shift from rural to urban, along with similarly massive changes in the nature of work, the consumer economy, and even the size and nature of families." ~ The American Society of Mechanical Engineers