Q:         We are looking for information about an item that’s hanging on a wall in a restaurant in Doon, Iowa. It’s a semicircular piece of wood about 48 inches long. The ends are 24 inches apart. It’s marked “Louden’s Patent, October 30, 1895.” It looks old. What is it and what was it used for?

A:         It’s a singletree, which is also often called a whiffletree or whippletree. It was used to hitch the traces of a horse’s harness to a plow or other implement. William Louden (1841-1931) held several patents for improvements to farm equipment. He invented a hay carrier in 1867 and founded Louden Manufacturing Works in Fairfield, Iowa, a year later to manufacture hay carriers and other farm equipment. From 1906 to 1939, the company, by then named Louden Machinery Co., also designed barns. Louden Machinery Co. was sold in 1956 and its farm equipment was not made after 1965. Singletrees don’t show up for sale very often. When they do, they usually sell for under $50.

 

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