A Horse Drawn Sickle Mower in My Drive

Bill got on the tractor the other day and headed out to the timber.  He brought back a rusted old piece of farm equipment he had noticed.  Using chains, he was able to maneuver this piece of equipment until he could drop it in place on my circular drive.  He and I thought it would make a great yard ornament. 

We looked it over and found some markings on it.  One of them said John Deere No. 1.  I went inside to Google John Deer No. 1.   I did not find anything useful until Mike suggested I put antique in front of it.

That's when I found out it was a sickle mower.  I found a picture of one with all of its parts and one that was freshly painted.  Both items were on auction websites.  The brown one sold for $41 and the green one sold for $221.  Apparently I am not the only one who likes these as lawn ornaments. 

I have been unable to identify its age with any precision.  Via the Internet, I learned that the horse drawn sickle mower began to be popular after the Civil War (around the 1860's) and lots of refinements were still being made to the design in the late 1800's.  However, they were pretty much no longer in use after WWI.  According to Lynn R. Miller, the author of The Horse Drawn Mower book, they only were popular and in use for about 25 years although built to have a serviceable life of 100 years. 

I will have to wait until after the quarantine is lifted to learn more.  Perhaps then I can find The Horse Drawn Mower book at the library.  Or maybe I can visit the John Deere Museum in Iowa or the John Deere Pavillon in Moline Illinois.  Definitely something to add to the to do list.  In the meantime, I will just enjoy my new yard ornament.