Visitors look over tractors at a prior Highland County Antique Machinery Club Show.
Highland County Antique Machinery Club
The 40th annual Highland County Antique Machinery Club Show will be held at the Highland County Fairgrounds from Friday, June 28 through Sunday, June 30 beginning at 9 a.m. each day.
The show will consist of tractor pulls, a plowing demonstration, garden tractor games, tractor parades, bingo, a poker run, a raffle and live music.
Admission for the show is $5 per person, and children under 12 will be admitted free.
“The purpose of the club is to preserve and educate people about antique farm equipment, anything from tractors to garden tractors and corn shellers,” said Travis Mitchell, the club’s president. “We have a lot of guys that have old hand tools that came with tractors and implements, and a couple years ago we started plowing in the fall where guys would bring our their old antique tractors and their old plows and plow out on Route 50.”
The club was founded March 19, 1985, when 16 local residents met at the New Market Township House to elect its officers.
During the first 10 years of the antique machinery show, it was held near Rocky Fork Lake. The show moved to the former AmVets Park in 1995, and has been at the Highland County Fairgrounds since 2021.
“Our member base has increased quite a bit,” said Mitchell. “We went from 16 members in 1985 to a steady 38 members at meetings and around 65 dues-paying members.” The club meets on the second Tuesday of each month at the Hillsboro Church of the Nazarene.
“By 2021, we had one of the best shows we’ve had in a long time,” said Mitchell. “Attendance was up, and we were able to add antique garden tractor pulling from the group out of Lynchburg.”
A 40th anniversary ceremony for the show attended by local political officeholders will be featured at 10 a.m. on the Saturday of the show. This will be the first year the show will have a feature tractor — John Deere.
“We try to work a lot with other local clubs like the Clermont County Antique Machinery Club, Georgetown Tractor Club and the Fayette Tired Iron Machinery Club,” said Mitchell. “We all try to help each other where we can because if we don’t work together, none of us will be around.
“We’re hoping to have a good turnout and put on a big show this year and go from there for next year. We encourage everybody to stop out and see us.”
Reach John Hackley at 937-402-2571.
