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.’
![big bertha big bertha](https://shieldsethridgefarminc.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/shieldsethridgefarm_0282.jpg)
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.