Processing Machines
The following items represent some of the early machines used to process crops and animal products into usable or marketable goods.
Corn Sheller
This type of corn sheller was invented in 1839. The machine pushes the ear of corn through a series of metal-toothed cylinders that separate the kernels from the cobs. The seeds fall to the ground and the cobs are expelled through the hole on the left of the machine. This machine streamlined the arduous task of threshing the corn, essentially beating or stomping the cobs on a flat stone floor until the kernels separated.
Cider Press
Apple cider was a popular crash crop for 19th century Williamstown farmers. At the time, safe drinking water was rare and hard to find; it was often cider, instead, that farmers would drink to stay hydrated through the heat, often imbibing in the hard version as well. Apple trees still grow to the East of the Rosenberg center. The one presented in incomplete; it lacks the actual press and cylinder.
Butter Churn
By 1840, amidst a craze for Merino wool, Berkshire County had over 130,000 sheep. When the Merino craze collapsed in the 1860s, farmers turned to dairy production. Milk, cheese, and butter were important exports for the county until the middle of the 20th century when changes to shipping and farming practices caused a steady decline to the local dairy industry.