This photo shows “Dinosaurs on the Prairie” near Napoleon, North Dakota, an open-air display of antique threshing machines scattered across rolling prairie land. In the foreground, a rusted thresher with exposed gears, chains, and wheels catches the golden glow of sunset. More vintage machines stretch into the distance, lined across the grassy field beneath a wide, cloud-streaked sky. The scene highlights both the rugged beauty of the prairie and the powerful legacy of early farm machinery that once transformed agriculture.

The machines you see winding up the hill on Custer’s Ridge may look and seem as old as dinosaurs, but not so long ago they were an essential part of agricultural life in North Dakota.

The machines, called threshers, were used to separate seed from the stalks of crops like wheat, oats, and flax — a job that previously required the difficult task of beating the stalks by hand or flail. Not only were threshing machines easier to use, they helped cultivate farming communities because it took several people to cut and bundle the stalks, run the stalks through the machine to separate the grain, and stack the harvest.

On threshing days, the women began cooking and baking early in the morning. It took a lot of time and effort to make breakfast, lunch, and supper for a crew of hungry threshers. The women often butchered and cooked chickens and baked homemade biscuits and breads. Some of the women also helped the men with the threshing.

How long did it take? Until it got done. The crew worked from dawn till dusk and the neighboring farmers often stayed the night and slept on hay mounds in the barn after the day’s hard work was finished.

After threshing, the farmers took the wheat to a stone mill. Although there was usually a mill less than 15 miles away, it took an entire day just to harness the horses, fill the wagons with wheat, travel to the mill, and help grind the wheat into flour. The farmers sold some flour at the market and put the rest in storage. Come winter and spring, their families would rely on the flour for nearly every meal — they often ate something made of flour for breakfast, lunch, and supper.

Threshing was a way farmers helped each other. The men and women went from one farm to another until the wheat was harvested, the workers were fed, and the job was done. Now, threshers have been replaced by combines.

The thresher you see closest to the road was owned and operated by John “Custer” Grenz. When local farmers began auctioning off their farming equipment and threshers in exchange for new equipment, “Custer” decided to place his bid and add to his collection. When he won the bid, he’d bring the new threshers to his son, Harvey’s, yard. Eventually, the machines began to pile up, so with some help, Harvey moved the threshers to a nearby parcel of pasture land.

Today, you’ll see more than 30 threshers arranged on the hillside before you. Harvey and Gloria Grenz maintain the exhibit and enjoy sharing in North Dakota’s rich agricultural history. Thanks to the Grenz family, you can trek up Custer’s Ridge to take in a beautiful view of the farming relics and surrounding prairie and let your imagination take you back in time.