This shed was added to the central building complex in the 1950s when Lanis Ethridge replaced old ways of working the land with mechanized methods. Today it provides a gathering place for visitors to the farm.
Tractors were used on the farm from an early date, but until the 1950s the main tasks associated with cotton production – planting, cultivating, and picking – continued to depend on the labor of tenants working with mules. The McCormick – Deering ‘F 30 Farmall’ tractor still in the shed was purchased around 1936. It was affectionately known as ‘Big Bertha.’
Before the realignment of Johnson Mill Road and construction of this building, this area was at the edge of a large cotton field that ran from here northwards to the woods beside the Schoolhouse. Soil conservation terraces can still be seen in this field.