WYOMING, Ill. — With the second annual Farm Heritage Days at the Stark County Jr. Fairgrounds in the city of Wyoming serving as their stage, dedicated volunteers with the Midwest Ag Museum enjoyed plenty of opportunities to engage farmers and others in agribusiness about their plans to fundraise for a $2 million farm museum in central Illinois.

The proposed museum, which has been in planning for four years, would be constructed somewhere between the interstates 74 and 80 corridors from the Mississippi River to the west, to the Princeton-Peoria region in central Illinois. This is according to Larry Meaker, an originator of the museum project who helped staff the museum’s informational booth at Farm Heritage Days.

“Our goal is to provide something for kids of the future that will remind them of what came in the past. If you ask some children where their bowl of oatmeal came from, they say ‘out of a box,’ and milk comes ‘from the grocery store,’” said Meaker.

He came up with the idea of a museum showcasing agricultural history in the Midwest, with his cousin, Chris McMillen, also of rural Toulon in Stark County. “The museum will provide a place where people can learn about the impact agriculture has had on their lives from the time they used a hand scythe to cut grain, up to today’s modern equipment,” Meaker added.

Still living in his family’s circa-1868 farmhouse near acreage he rents out to area farmers along with his sister, Meaker and his family enjoy a long history of farming Stark County’s rich soils. McMillen also grew up on a local farm, where as a youngster he became attached to his father’s and grandfather’s collection of farm machinery.

“Chris’ granddad had a Huber. Something went wrong with it and Chris about cried because he wanted to save it instead of having it hauled to a scrap yard,” Meaker recalled. “Now (he is) working on restoring an old Huber. He also has a 1935 or 1936 John Deere and the high-wheeled wagon his grandfather bought back in the 1930s, and it is still well-preserved.”

It was collections like McMillen’s which fueled the idea of developing a museum to showcase the old machinery. Central Illinois farm families are ready to donate or loan items such as s 1919 Port Huron thresher, Deere horse-drawn corn planter, wood beam moldboard plow, 1860 Keystone corn planter and much more – once the museum has been constructed.

“We could go out and fill a building right now if we could just get the word out,” said Meaker, who recently entered into talks with a landowner concerning a potential location in the Kewanee-Galva area. “We are meeting the 31st of August with an architect to lay out some basic plans for a building. Our goal is to raise $2 million to purchase land, put up a building and have some (initial) operating funds.”

Starting with a basic webpage at www.midwestagmuseum.com and appearances at farm equipment and nostalgia shows, organizers of the Midwest Ag Museum have been trying to solicit donations, memberships and corporate relationships. Meaker didn’t comment on how much had already been donated for the museum, which is a 501(c) nonprofit – instead, focusing on a new fundraising philosophy members are embracing.

“We’re still in the working stage,” said Meaker, “but if we can get 2,000 farmers to donate $1,000 apiece, we’ve got our $2 million. We plan to also approach agribusiness, but we’ve got to have a few more ducks in a row.”

Those interested in learning more about the museum project, donations or membership options may contact Meaker at 309-995-3839.

Farm Heritage Days were Aug. 18-19 and featured antique tractor pulls, tractor and equipment displays, a parade of machinery, operating steam engines, plowing and sawmills demonstrations, kids’ attractions and much more. To learn more about the Central Illinois Farm Heritage Tractor Club, visit www.citractorclub.com