Agriculture
Baker and Hamilton Farm Implements Cataloge
It may be hard to believe in these modern days, but in Dixon's early days of a hardscrabble farming community, the Baker and Hamilton catalog was a very hot item with the working farmers. The women got the Sears and Roebuck catalog while the men took the Baker and Hamilton catalog with them to the outhouse.
To give you the flavor of the 1883 rural Dixon era, we present the entire Baker and Hamilton farm implement catalog. For your information, Baker and Hamilton started business in 1849 and is still a player although these days it is better known for its Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.
30-Mule Team Pulling Grain Harvester - 1890´s
A 30-mule team pulls the grain harvester (thresher), while the wagons and mules in the background wait to haul grain sacks to mill. Note the windmill in the background. Farmers were paid by the total weight of their sacks of grain. Weighing was done at the Batavia Weigh Station. Various agricultural crops are grown in and around Dixon. In the late 1800s, dry farming included wheat and barley, grown with winter rainwater and without irrigation. Around 1957, when the Monticello Dam was established, farmers received water from the Solano Irrigation District and thus transitioned to row crops, growing alfalfa, tomatoes, sugar beets, beans, corn, wheat, barley, and sunflowers. Additionally, orchards of almonds and walnuts are prevalent in Dixon. Many European, Mexican, Filipino, Italian, Swiss, and Japanese families have had farms in the Dixon area.
Dixon Dairy - 1909
By 1900, Dixon had over 80 dairy farms and became a notable milk producer, and thus was named “Dairy City.” Many Portuguese and other European families established dairies in the Dixon area. Dixon was home to some of the largest dairy producers in the United States. Thousands of gallons of milk and cream were shipped from “Dairy City” by railroad to Sacramento and the Bay Area daily. Two of the largest dairies in Dixon were owned by the Timm and Doyle families.