A fertilizer and seed-spreading device used at the Herman Flower farm on Tulip Avenue in Franklin Square during the mid-1900s remains fully operational today as an artifact at the Franklin Square Museum.

“The hand-operated spreader was manufactured from wood and metal. The two handles are wooden while the rest of the object is metal,” Dr. Paul van Wie, director of the Franklin Square Historical Society, explained in a statement.

The device features one metal wheel that has a diameter of 24 inches, and the total length of the spreader is about 58 inches. Additionally, there is a “small galvanized holding tank for the spreading material at center,” van Wie explained.

At least 50 years after its creation, the spreader remains fully operational.

Herman Flower farm, the last surviving farm in Franklin Square, operated until the 1980s, when it was sold to make space for residential developments.

“It remains a tangible link with our agricultural heritage, and one which was actively used within living memory,” van Wie added.

The Franklin Square Historical Society invites all residents of Franklin Square to join the society and receive its monthly newsletter. Check the society’s website, https://www.fshistoricalsociety.org, for updates on the opening of its museum to the public, and email society trustee Bill Youngfert at BYoungfert@aol.com to schedule a tour of the museum.

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