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Here he is with his favorite plow, the hillside plow. It’s quite an engineering achievement.
Today, John Turner (his wife calls him Bill) can look back and proudly talk about and show you what might be the biggest and most versatile display of plows and other farm equipment I have ever seen. The Smithsonian Institute in Washington would be lucky to have Turner’s unbelievable collection.
John Turner is retired now and lives on his 52 acre home site on the edge of Cliffside. It is quite a place out in the middle of nowhere and when you finally get there, after almost two miles of carefully traveling on a dirt road, you realize how lucky you are.
John’s been told that he has one of only two cotton planters in existence. His very favorite plow is the hill side plow. Also, he spoke to me quite a while about his “turning plow”. To John they are masterpieces.
Many of his collection involves pieces that were manufactured in Charlotte by the Cole Manufacturing Company. The company was first incorporated on October 12, 1900 in Charlotte by four Cole brothers. The Cole brothers were born in Chatham County, North Carolina. They later moved to a farm in Moore County near Carthage. It was there that the brothers began to make seed planters for their neighbors around 1885. On July 17, 1900 the brothers obtained a US patent for the “Coles’ Combination Planter”. After struggling for the first few years, the brothers began to realize much success. A new plant was designed and completed in 1911. Under the direction of Eugene Macon Cole, the business achieved many years of success. According to a government official, E. M. Cole “did more in the improvement of machinery for planting seed than had been done in all preceding centuries.” By the 1940’s it was estimated that three fourths of the cotton, corn, and peanut crops in the South were planted with Cole planters. By 1961 over two million Cole seed planters, fertilizer spreaders and grain drills had been manufactured and delivered.
The important thing to remember, is that John Turner in Rutherford County has a great and extensive collection of Cole planters. It is truly amazing. He owns at least 39 plows, if not more. He loves his wheat cradles, cross cut saws, horse collars, double and single trees, in fact, everything in his collection. His wife, Doris, of 51 years said: “I’ve enjoyed seeing him do what he loved so much.”
One must remember that most of the power for the plows came from mules and horses. The working animal of choice at the time was the mule.
One might easily say that John William Turner, born near Bostic, “got plowed under”. His hobby provides a wonderful reflection of what helped make North Carolina and our country a great state and a great nation. These “tools of the earth” will always be very special.
Without a doubt, I would really love to see his collection on display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D. C.
