The Galesburg Historical Society of Illinois is located in The Galesburg Antique Mall. The history of the building is quite unique and meets the requirement for an antique all by itself.

The building was constructed in 1897, said Laura Gibbs Kirven, who has been with the mall since it began 18 years ago. “It was an Odd Fellows Home; the Odd Fellows were a Swedish fraternal organization. They built this building and it was their lodge for many years,” she added.

After serving as the Odd Fellows Home, the building was restored and became an antique mall with the Galesburg Historical Society located on the third floor. The museum is filled with an array of agricultural products from Galesburg – and one of the most fascinating pieces is the George Brown Planter manufactured in Galesburg in 1870.

The Galesburg city website states in 1851 Brown invented the corn planter and they were sold all over the world. Agricultural historian Dick McKinley had talked to me about the George Brown corn planter he owns, at the 2010 Gathering of the Green.

“In 1855 Brown patented his planter in Galesburg. The heavy wooden contraption revolutionized corn planting. Before the machine started planting, the field was cross-marked in what is now referred to as ‘check planting.’ These rows were made by a check row field marker at 48-inch intervals. The markers were drug across the field both ways to create the cross-check,” he explained.

George Washington Brown’s story begins with his birth on Oct. 29, 1815, in Clifton Township Park, N.Y. He grew up on the farm, but his father died when he was a toddler; at the age 14 Brown joined his older brother, who taught him carpentry skills.

Brown also worked on the railroad, and in a speech about the man’s accomplishments, Clark E. Carr stated: “He worked at his trade on the railroad … he was married before he was of age to Maria Turpening … Some near relatives of the young couple had gone to Illinois, who sent back glowing reports of the prairie and of possibilities of the future.”

The Brown family headed west like many of this time period, and in July 1836 ended up in Tylerville, which was part of Illinois’ Warren County. A farmer and carpenter by trade, Brown came up with the idea of turning a cultivator into a corn planter in 1848. It took several designs before he came up with a prototype he proved by planting acres for a neighbor.

After securing patents for his invention, he first built planters by hand. In 1853, after completing 12 machines, business took off – in 1854 he made 200 planters, and 300 in 1855. Local history states Brown moved his business to Galesburg, where by 1878 he was manufacturing 8,000 machines per year.

“As others tried to infringe on his patents, he filed suit and in May 1874 the Supreme Court of the United States declared him the inventor of the corn planter. This gave him the right to collect royalties on all machines manufactured, and in July 1878 he won $200,000 in a suit against Keystone Manufacturing Co. in Rock Island, Ill.,” states the Knox County Genealogy website.

This successful manufacturer employed from 130-230 men in the 1870s and the company used 2,000 tons of coal, 500 tons of castings, 250 tons of wrought iron and steel, 15 tons of paints and oils and 500,000 feet of lumber per year.

Geo. W. Brown & Co. made more than just corn planters – in 1891, its pocket ledger shares it also manufactured “Brown check rowers, steel beam cultivators, Acme Tongueless cultivators, Leidy cotton and corn stalk cutters, Knox spiral knife stalk cutters, double and single shovel plows, sulky rakes, steel and wood harrows and corn shellers.”

The Mercer County Historical Society newsletter stated Brown corn planters were even sold to buyers from Europe, Brazil, Argentina and Japan. By 1880, the firm was reorganized as Geo. Brown & Co. and by the time he died in 1895, Brown was a wealthy man who owned property in California and Galesburg.

After the death of his wife, he spent his remaining years between his daughters’ homes while his son managed the business. It was on a return trip to Galesburg from California and out in bad weather that Brown fell ill and died at a daughter’s home. His legacy lives on at the historical museum and in the many contributions he made to Galesburg and agriculture.

There are many items to see in the museum besides the Brown artifacts, but this is a great place to learn about the history of the first corn planter. The mall and museum are open seven days a week, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. From January-March they keep winter hours of 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (noon-4 p.m. on Sundays).

The Galesburg Antique Mall Co. and Galesburg Historical Society Museum are located 349 E. Main St., Galesburg, IL 61401. Call 309-342-8571 for more information, or check them out on Facebook.

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.