At Row Crop Tour, Visitors Dive into LaPorte Ag History
Published: Friday, August 11, 2023
The LaPorte County Row Crop Producers chose an unconventional site for their annual Ag Tour and Barbecue: the LaPorte County Historical Society Museum.
At first glance, one might question why the Row Crop Food Producers and LaPorte County Farm Bureau would visit a historical museum, when most of the previous tours have taken place at a farm or agribusiness. But after completing the tour, visitors learned that agriculture has played a very important role in the history of LaPorte County.
Mark Parkman, president of LaPorte County Farm Bureau, said the goal of the Ag Tour and Barbecue, held annually since 1976, is to educate non-farmers about agriculture.
The county gets its name from French explorers who found a natural opening in the thick forest and called it "LaPorte," which means "the door." The name stuck.
The historical museum, located at 2405 Indiana Ave. (U.S. 35), is filled with thousands of historical artifacts, from actual mastodon bones—found at farms in southern LaPorte County—to collections of over 800 antique firearms and 35 classic cars. There is also a special display highlighting the Lincoln Highway, the first cross-country highway built as a memorial to President Abraham Lincoln. The historic highway ran through LaPorte County.
Many associate the city of LaPorte with the Rumely Oil Pull tractor and Allis-Chalmers. The museum has a display telling the story of the company's founder, Meinrad Rumely, who was known as the "Grand Old Man of LaPorte." The Rumely Co.s, which operated in LaPorte from 1853 to 1931, was one of the largest agricultural equipment manufacturers of its time. Many of the company's innovations were carried forward when the company was purchased by Allis-Chalmers in 1931.
2023 is the 200th anniversary of Meinrad Rumely's birth.
According to Bruce Johnson, county historian, the most popular attraction at the museum is the Belle Gunness Exhibit, which tells the story of a female mass murderer who was responsible for the deaths of 13 people on her LaPorte County farm. The display was created by the late Dick Reel, former county Extension director and a fixture at the county fair's Pioneer Land.
On the grounds adjacent to the historical society is the Door Prairie Barn, considered to be one of the most famous buildings in LaPorte County. Larry Smith, a farmer and draft horse enthusiast, was on hand to explain the history of the nine-sided structure, built in 1882 by Marion Ridgway. The original owner raised horses and built eight horse stalls on the first floor. Overhead is a large loft with bins for oats, corn and hay storage.
The Door Prairie Barn stayed in the Ridgway family for more than 100 years. Dr. Peter Kesling, a local dentist and philanthropist, had built the Door Prairie Auto Museum next door to display his impressive collection of automobiles. In 1982, he purchased the barn and hired an expert craftsman to restore it. In 1993, the Door Prairie Barn was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the barn is owned by the Peter B. Kesling Foundation.
In 2003, county officials purchased the colonial-style building and converted it to the county historical museum. Up until that time, the museum resided in the basement of the county courthouse. As part of the purchase agreement, Kesling's classic car collection would be located on the second floor of the museum. The new museum was dedicated on Sept. 30, 2006.
The tour also featured farm equipment from the 1970s and today. One of the oldest pieces was a 1929 Rumely Oil Pull brought in by Doug Seymour, a local farmer.
"The thought of this idea was to show you what farm machinery was like back in the 1970s," said Myron Schafer, president of the Row Crop Food Producers Team. "Now, some of us who go back that far remember it like it was yesterday, but you know it's been over 50 years."
Each year, the Row Crop group, in partnership with the Unity Foundation of LaPorte County, presents scholarships to deserving students from the county. Following the tours and pork chop dinner, four scholarship recipients were announced. This year's winners are: Kaylee Koselke, Madeleine Nunn, Jonathan Rocke and Melissa Rudolph. Each youth received $1,500 for their college education.
Return to Top of Page