Maine Memory Network

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• MMN #152046
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Description

This photograph illustrates two groups of men with horses harvesting potatoes in a bustling field, surrounded by scattered barrels and baskets. A man in a suit, likely E.E. Parkhurst, stands in the middle of the image holding a potato in each hand.

E.E. Parkhurst, of Presque Isle, was known as one of the leading business leaders in the potato industry in Aroostook County and served on the board of directors of the Aroostook Potato Shippers' Association.

According to his obituary, Parkhurst, who died at the age of 96, began his career as a tin peddler and fur buyer and was one of the pioneer settlers of Aroostook. The U.S. Department of Agriculture credited him with introducing the spraying of potatoes to produce good crops. He built one of the first starch factories in the county and was a major grower of seed and table stock. Parkhurst also served one term in the House of Representatives and two terms as senator from Aroostook.

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About This Item

• Title: Elisha E. Parkhurst and workers harvesting potatoes, Presque Isle, 1915
• Creation Date: 1915
• Subject Date: 1915
• Location: Presque Isle, Aroostook County, ME
• Media: Photographic print
• Local Code: Browse--Presque Isle
• Object Type: Image

Cross Reference Searches

Standardized Subject Headings

• Agricultural laborers--Maine--Presque Isle
• Agricultural machinery
• Agriculture
• Horses--Maine--Presque Isle
• Potato growers--Maine--Presque Isle

People

• Parkhurst, Elisha E.

Other Keywords

• Farmers
• Labor
• Potatoes
• State senators
• Work

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More to Consider

Item 13195

Potato barrels at harvest, Caribou, ca. 1930

Item 13196

Horse drawn potato digger, ca. 1940

Item 17846

Potato Service Company, Presque Isle, ca. 1965

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