Western Missouri Antique Tractor & Machinery Association

ABOUT US Frontier Village -- History Preserved By SHARON KIESEL - From the 2004 Frontier Village Journal If you're new to this year's WMAT&MA Show and Frontier Village, you may wonder - How did it come about? The association was formed in 1977 by a group of men interested in preserving history. Most has some prior history of their own as they either used the vintage farm machinery when they were younger and the tractors, not so vintage or they saw the machinery being used by their fathers and grandfathers. The first show was held in 1978 at the Adrian City Park. The present ground was purchased in 1982 and consisted mostly of pasture and sage brush. It was plowed and seeded with grass that year. In 1983 the Mt. Vernon Schoolhouse was moved to the site and that was the first year for a show on the grounds. "We had no idea of a museum or an old town," said Don Arndt. "We were and still are, just a bunch of guys who love old time machinery and wanted to keep the old Ag history alive." He said after acquiring the old school-house, things just sort of evolved. Nothing was planned, it just happened. Over the years other buildings have been moved to the grounds and preserved for generations to come. Those buildings include not only the school but the Mulberry Church, the old Spruce Store, the gas station and the ice cream shop, all of what were once vital parts of the communities from which they came originally. Now they sit with a new life, as reminders of what once was - back in the good old days.