An Ainsworth Artifact

This square of rusted metal came into the Hobart Historical Society museum recently. It had been found circa 2006 in the woods 'way back of the houses on the east side of Grand Boulevard.

The slightly convex square is embossed with the word "PRAIRIE" in an oval shape, with two lines of illegible numbers below that. (I photographed it at an angle in sunlight to try to bring out the lettering.)


(Click on images to enlarge)

Here is the underside of the square, just for completeness.



I figured it was from some sort of farm equipment such as a tractor, or maybe even a wood- or coal-burning stove, so I started searching the internet for some such thing, but I got absolutely nowhere. Then I posed the question on the "What Is This Thing?" subreddit. I was amazed how quickly someone got back to me with the answer.

It is the hopper lid of a Prairie No. 3 1786E walk-behind seeder. Here are some photos of one that sold at auction.


(Click on image to enlarge)
Images from https://kraftauctions.hibid.com/lot/25205-173932-486897/prairie-no--3-1786e-planter/.

(Once you know the second line under "PRAIRIE" is "No. 3," you can see it on our rusted square. The last line, well, I would never have guessed.)





I found another one sold at auction here.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any information on how old our hopper lid might be. Also, we don't know exactly where it was found. The person who found it lived in Section 17, which was Chester-Schmidt-Wasy land, but who knows if they might have wandered northward along the eastern border of the old Kegebein farm?


Here is a video on how a modern walk-behind seeder works.