Mysteries of Warren County, Indiana: Panoramic Photographs of Steam-Powered Threshing (Last Installment in This Series)

In 1999, my father and I drove in search of the locations of four panoramic photographs of steam-powered threshing taken by Lighty Photo Company of Williamsport, Indiana: a studio recognized for its panoramic images, many of which are in online collections. Brothers Lewis E. and Charles A. Lighty were the photographers. I had obtained prints of the panoramic photographs in Lafayette from Berry’s Camera Shop, which, incidentally, went out of business in 2012 after sixty-four years. My father and I found where three of the four photos were taken. The location of the fourth remains a mystery.

In the time when Lighty produced the photos in the county seat of Warren County, steam engines that powered threshing machines traveled from farm to farm on a ring, or run. The threshers separated grain from the stalks on which it had grown and cleaned the grain, such as wheat or barley. Long thereafter, the generations that had participated in steam threshing, or “thrashing” as the word was often spelled, fondly recalled the season. Families collaborated in the harvest and sat down to tables laden with food during “dinner,” which took place when the whistle blew at noon. My book entitled The Harvest Story: Recollections of Old-Time Threshermen (Purdue University Press, 2001) commemorated the threshing era in all its glory. The Lighty images captured much of the excitement of yesteryear on Hoosier farms.

(Above) Gus Gephart’s J. I. Case Steam Engine

And His Nichols & Shephard Red River Special Threshing Machine

At the Clapham Farm on Bethel Road East of Attica, Indiana

Photograph by Lighty Photo Company, Williamsport, Indiana

(Below) My Photograph of the Same Location in 1999

My father and I discovered that the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company engine and two-wheel tender, and the Nichols & Shepard Red River Special thresher belonged to Gus Gephart. Gus had the outgoing personality of a promoter. In the 1909 Case catalog, Gus is quoted as saying, “The Case coal tender and tank are convenient, and you never need to wait for water. I would not be without a 2-wheel tender tank if I owned a dozen outfits.” Gus hailed from a farm near Otterbein in Benton County, and he rented a farm near Attica in Fountain County. The photo was taken at the Clapham Farm just west of Bethel Cemetery and east of Attica. In the late 1920s, Gus moved back to the Gephart homestead near Otterbein. Gus held rodeos on the family farm and hired Charles Albert “Charley” or “Cobbie” Cobb’s band to perform music for the rodeo crowd. Charley was my grandmother’s brother. As I recall, the name “Bethel” was written on the back of the original panoramic print. Given that clue, my father correctly guessed that the Lighty image was taken near Attica.

(Above) E. H. Wilson's Baker Steam Engine Threshing

At Charles Weigle’s Farm Near Green Hill, Indiana

Photograph by Lighty Photo Company, Williamsport, Indiana

Photo Reproduced on Pages 102 and 103

In The Steam Tractor Encyclopedia: New Expanded Edition

By John F. Spalding and Dr. Robert T. Rhode

Available on Amazon

(Below) My Photograph of the Same Location in 1999

Barn and Silo Hidden Behind Trees

Charles Weigle’s farm, three quarters of a mile east of Green Hill, was the location of Lighty’s photo of a Baker steam engine and accompanying machines owned by E. H. Wilson. My father knew where Charles Weigle had lived, so it was easy to find where Lighty set up his camera.

(Above) Keck–Gonnerman Steam Engine Threshing

At Henry Lohmyer’s Farm in Warren County, Indiana

Photograph by Lighty Photo Company, Williamsport, Indiana

Photo Reproduced on Pages 42 and 43

In The Harvest Story: Recollections of Old-Time Threshermen

By Robert T. Rhode

Available on Amazon

(Below) My Photograph of the Same Location in 1999

Henry Lohmyer’s farm was the scene where a Keck–Gonnerman outfit was threshing. While my father napped in the car beside the Williamsport–Washington Township Library, I researched the location of the Lohmyer farm and found it in a turn-of-the-century map. The Lohmyer home was two miles north of Hedrick and two miles west on the Illinois state line. We drove directly to the site and recognized it at once.

(Above) Nichols & Shephard Steam Engine Threshing

At Unknown Location in Warren County, Indiana

Photograph by Lighty Photo Company, Williamsport, Indiana

The background of the unidentified photo features a road that runs between a fine brick house at the left (a small part of which can be seen close to the smokestack of the Nichols & Shepard engine) and a white house with a porch and two dormer windows at the right. If anyone recognizes where the photograph was taken, let me know.