Dwight Emerson, a Ford immersion
This past summer I had the chance to see some awesome Ford tractors but never as many cool ones at one place as at Dwight Emstrom’s amazing museum outside of Galesburg, Illinois. This retired farmer has been collecting Ford tractors or literature and memorabilia for some time and he decided to put it all on display at his museum which he calls Emstrom’s Farm Antiques.
The museum which I had been meaning to revisit for years was on our way to the Dyersville Toy Show so we stopped and checked out what is new and different. Dwight got started with Fords as a boy after his Albert Emstrom got a 9N in 1939. “That was the first tractor dad ever had,” Dwight said.
From then on, the expansion kept rolling. With a coast to coast trucking business, Dwight had the chance to pick up tractors from California and the East Coast. He has some wonderful tractors that anyone interested in either antique tractors or Fords would enjoy.
Some of the highlights of Dwight’s museum which has had visitors from all around the country as well as foreign nations include his 1947 Ford Ferguson 2N tractor with special tires that graced the pages of a DuPont calendar. Three early 1939 9N aluminum hood 9N’s are pretty awesome especially Dwight’s favorite, the 16th 9N made, the earliest one known to exist. “This was the first to roll off the factory floor. It came from California. As far as documents, it is the earliest N series tractor still in existence,” Dwight added.
Probably the most historical tractor that Dwight owns is the 1939 9N Ford that belonged to Henry Ford and came from his farm. “This was an experimental tractor,” Dwight said. “A guy called me and told me where it was.”
There is also the 1959 Model 1871 with an Elanco Front Wheel Drive, a 1958 741 with a Sherman transmission. There is also the 1964 400 hicrop diesel that came out of New Orleans. “This was used for vegetable farming,” Dwight added.
Dwight’s collection also includes some unusual implements like a Lindeman 2-Way plow. He also has a massive collection of clocks and signs along with toys and literature. We had a great time visiting with this wonderful man we consider a friend and looking over his lifetime Ford collection.
