Found in the collection of the BCM&CC is a plough first owned by James ‘Red Jim” McDonald of Huron Township. Like many ploughs it was passed down through three generations of farmers before coming to museum. Unlike other ploughs, this one was used by three generations at ploughing matches.
The plough is a known as swing style and features a curved mouldboard designed to cut neat and straight furrows. The mouldboard design also allowed soil to be turned over with less force reducing the effort on the farmer and horses. Swing style ploughs became popular and were frequently used in ploughing matches allowing farmers to showcase their talents.
The McDonald plough was made by John Barrowman and his blacksmith company in the small parish town of Saline, Fife in Scotland. John Barrowman made this style of plough in 1840 and produced small quantities. The plough design was shown at the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London in 1851. The plough design was considered ‘Classy’ in appearance but was limited to the quantities produced by the small manufacturer. John Barrowman died in 1860 but left the legacy of designing this popular plough in the Barrowman and Co. Blacksmith shop.
James “Red Jim”, born in Scotland, 1832, came to Bruce County at the age of 19, and received Crown patents for Lots 65 and 66, Concession 1, Huron Township. In the early 1850s he purchased the plough from Barrowman. He farmed both lots, until 1911 when he sold the north halves of the lots (his son Peter was farming the southern halves) to Harry Courtney and moved with his family to Albert St. in Kincardine. Red Jim died in 1924 and is buried in Pine River United Cemetery. According to family history Red Jim used the plough, perfectly designed for competitive ploughing at local matches.
It was then passed down to Red Jim’s son, Alexander, who beginning 1892, farmed on the north half of Lot 57, Concession 1 with his wife Catherine Ann McKay, and their family of two sons and seven daughters. According to his obituary, found in the Kincardine News dated January 26, 1955, Alex served as a school trustee for several years, was a successful farmer and was one of the first in the area to breed Holstein cattle. According to family knowledge, the plough was also used by Alex in local ploughing matches.
Alexander’s son, George, was the next to inherit the plough. George, his wife Erma Shiells, along with his brother Murray, stayed on the north half of Lot 57, Concession 1 and continued to operate the farm, which was known as ‘Spruce Nook Farm’. As Spruce Nook, they raised registered Shorthorn cattle and Yorkshire pigs. Spruce Nook Farm was sold in 1962. In 1959, just prior to selling the farm, George moved to Ripley and was the shipper at U.C.O for sixteen years before retiring and opening McDonald Antiques which he operated until his death in 1982. George also used the plough during matches and used it at the first Bruce County Plowing Match which took place north of Paisley on Watson McKinnon’s farm October 21, 1924. George won first prize in Class 3, (18-25 years of age), at the age of 19, and best finish. He was also awarded a silver cup, valued at $25, donated by the Royal Bank, for best ridge in Classes 2 (open to all who have never won a men’s prize), and 3. This trophy engraved with “best single furrow – plain plow” is also part of the museum’s collection, and was donated 17 years after the plough. It is interesting to note, George won with the plough the year his grandfather died, and at the time of winning, the plough, thought to have been purchased in ca. 1852, was over 70 years old, nearly four times the age of the operator.
Red Jim’s plough was donated to the museum in 1987 and had always been displayed outdoors – first in front of the museum near the log buildings and then just outside of the log cabin after the 2005 renovation. After its long tenure outside, the plough has been brought indoors, cleaned, and will continue to find a home indoors for future preservation. Found within the plough’s donation file are letters from the donor and other family members expressing their pleasure at being able to see the plough on display. Also found in the file is a letter and this photograph from 1994. The photograph features Andrew, a son of Red Jim (born when Red Jim was 75), at age 86.
