Vigo County Historical Society

Historical Treasure Article

Historic Treasure of the Week - April 28, 1985
By Susie Dewey
Vigo County Historical Society

Ox yoke recalls step 2 in ag evolution

Today oxen yokes can be seen in museums, in antique shops or decorating country-style homes.

The yoke in the Guy Stantz tool room of the Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is well-preserved. It is larger than many in common use. Little is known about this yoke. It was a gift from Madge and Wallace Stephens.

Such yokes allowed oxen to turn the top soil of the prairies that had never before felt a plow. The plow was a heavy, clumsy, wooden-mold board instrument that probably came into use about 1810.

Oxen which had been used for centuries and still are in use in some countries, were the second step in the evolution of agricultural power. Man-power became ox-power; ox-power became horse-power; and horse-power became tractor power.

The wooden plow lasted until about 1835 when the cast iron, steel and chilled metal plows were drawn by horses.

Oxen, however, were still in use in isolated areas long after 1840. Some farmers resisted metal plows for they feared the metal would poison the soil.

The advantages of ox-power were many. Oxen were used for logging, plowing and heavy hauling. They cost only one-sixth as much as horses and ate much less. When oxen became old, they could be slaughtered and eaten. They were by temperament capable of tremendous workloads and could do slow, repetitive tasks well. They required a minimum of rest and feed.

The disadvantages of oxen were self-evident. Oxen are incapable of bursts of speed or energy. Their intelligence was truthfully immortalized in the metaphor, "as dumb as an ox."

Although oxen were in common use in the United Stated for more than a century, they were always considered poor second cousins to the horse.

The greatest disadvantage of oxen was simply that they weren't built for pulling. Their shoulders did not have a good shelf to hold a collar and their leg muscles were not sufficiently developed. To overcome this disadvantage, the oxen yoke was developed.

Primitive yokes consisted of a nearly straight stick; shaped at the ends to fit under the horns against the forehead and tied with strips of rawhide. Oxen were attached to the end of the plow beam by a hinged device. This crude device developed into a wooden neck brace to keep the tongue of the plow or wagon out of the dirt. Preferred woods for yokes were ash, black gum, pine. sassafras and yellow poplar.

Oxen yokes were made to fit the needs of a particular team. The design depended upon the shape and size of the oxen. The yoke at the museum is 50 inches from tip to tip. The average yoke was more nearly 45 inches wide.

Beneath the yoke itself, two bows for the necks of the oxen were attached. The bows were usually hickory because hickory bends easily without breaking. The bows were seasoned. The bows of the museum yoke are 28 inches deep -- larger than average.

A metal steeple, usually iron, was nailed into place at the bottom of the center of the yoke. Two rings, one smaller than the other, were attached to the metal steeple. Chains , leatherstrips or, more commonly, hempen ropes were tied to the rings for pulling. all the woodwork was rough hewn with an ax or a hatchet and then smoothed with a drawing knife. The yoke was drawn on one block of wood.

Some yokes found in antique shops are made in craft shops in backwoods areas and appropriately seasoned.

The old oxen yoke in the basement of the museum represents one step in the evolution of agriculture into America's greatest industry. Because it recalls methods, tools and craftsmanship of earlier Indiana days, it is more than wood or metal.