Collection is open to research.
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], American Work Horse Museum Collection, Ms2005-013, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The American Work Horse Museum Collection was donated to Special Collections in 2001.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the American Work Horse Museum Collection commenced in June 2005 and was completed in July 2005.
Henry "Buck" Buckardt was born October 24, 1904, and died December 25, 1996. He was born in DeKalb County, Illinois. Buckardt received his PhD in Agronomy at the University of Illinois. He married his wife, Mary, in 1937. In 1938, Dr. Buckardt took a government job in Washington, DC, to work in soil conservation. By 1947, Buckardt was employed by the U.S. Civil Service Commission in Korea. In 1950, he worked for Civil Service at the Pentagon. By January of 1956, Henry Buckardt became the Agricultural Attaché of the U.S. Embassy in Korea. In August of 1958, he and his family moved to Monte Vedeo, Uruguay, where he lived for 12 years and worked for the U.S. Embassy, again as an attaché. Throughout this time, Mary "Bucky" Buckardt worked for the American Cancer Society.
The American Work Horse Museum was conceived while the Buckardts were living in Uruguay, but, according to a 1971 letter by Buckardt, was incorporated on February 3, 1971. The museum grounds are on property purchased in Paeonian Springs, Leesburg, Virginia. Subsequently, artifacts and papers were donated to the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences during the tenure of Dean Swiger (1993-2003). The American Work Horse Museum was moved and re-opened at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Virginia, on September 26, 1998.
The American Work Horse Museum Colleciton is largely composed of equine agricultural materials from the collection of Dr. and Mrs. Buckardt. The Buckardts donated their workhorse artifacts to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech.
In addition to farming machinary and photographs still located at the museum in Lexington, the collection also contains newsletters from 1971 to 1981 featuring information on museum activities.
Other materials include an 1918 Army machine gun handbook, information on work horse teams, and a small collection of museum-related photographs.
American Workhose Museum:
Virginia Horse Center:
The collection is arranged alphabetically by folder title. Folder contents are in chronological order.
The guide to the American Work Horse Museum Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).