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Although I'm in the same state, the abandoned town where it's located is some 400 miles away! I'll see if I can contact the local historical society because I've heard that the townsite was recently sold and I'd like to contact the new owner as I may travel there in August. I doubt if much has changed since the photograph was taken several years ago. The remains of this machine have abandoned buildings on most sides and a gully with woods on the other - you can see some of the trees in the background. It takes a great deal of effort to even walk to it - let alone pull it out. The hillside is covered with a wide assortment of very old farm machinery of all sorts - which is why I wasn't certain that it was even a tractor! If any of you reading have the books, "Ghost Towns of Kansas" or "Still More Ghost Towns of Kansas" it has a long article about the town, the fires, and the bank failure all of which contributed to it's eventual abandonment. The area around the town is farmed, but the land is not very fertile and the effort to clear the site of trees and concrete foundations simply wouldn't be worthwhile. I've visited the place often under the previous owner, but need to speak with the current before I go back. My mother lived in another house that's still standing, but the one church where my relatives were wed and buried is an atmospheric pile of wood. My family's association with the place goes back to a great grandfather who built a soddy 2 miles from the town in 1869 and who ran the grain elevator there until the 1920s. Although I'd love to see the site of the town preserved, seeing antique farm equipment literally rust to nothing isn't preservation!
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