Aledo Illinois Steam Tractor Explosion Disaster Real Photo Postcard

The postcard documents the explosion of a threshing machine in Aledo, Illinois, on July 27, 1909. Threshing machines were vital agricultural implements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, designed to separate grain from stalks and husks, significantly increasing efficiency over manual methods. Often powered by steam engines, these complex machines represented the mechanization of farming.