This photo shows a collection of rusting threshing machines and antique farm equipment displayed on the grass at the South-Central Threshing Grounds in Braddock, North Dakota. The old machinery, with its large wheels, belts, and chutes, sits in open prairie fields under a cloudy sky, evoking the era when threshing bees and steam-powered equipment were central to farming life. The scene captures both the rugged history of early agriculture and the preservation of heritage at this historic site.

Braddock, North Dakota, settled in 1883, is the oldest town in Emmons County. And if you want to see firsthand how your ancestors printed the newspaper and harvested the fields Braddock is the place to be. Each year, the South Central Threshing Association hosts the Annual Threshing Bee and Antique Show on the first weekend after Labor Day. There, the fields come alive with colorful machinery and relics from the past. See tractors, threshers, and a variety of operating farm equipment collected and restored by passionate local farmers, tinkerers, and history buffs. You’ll feel like a kid playing with their favorite collection of toy cars and tractors--only now, the toys are life-sized.

People of all ages and invited to celebrate the history and culture of Emmons County at the Annual Threshing Bee and Antique Show. Make sure to catch the parade featuring antique cars, tractors, trucks, military vehicles, and even a horse and buggy. See live demonstrations of threshing, saw milling, rock-crushing, corn-shredding, and more. You can also experience history in action by visiting an operating printing press and getting certified as a printer’s apprentice (also known as a printer’s devil) just like Walt Whitman, Benjamin Franklin, and Mark Twain. The oldest equipment at the press dates back to 1875, but the technology can be traced back to 1452. You can also visit the Iron Men in the local blacksmith shop, kick back at the 1890s saloon, and taste traditional German Russian food, like cheese buttons and and kuchen.