When I took this photo a couple of months ago, I had no idea what the mechanism was behind the memorial to the "Hands of Harvest" in Old Timers' Square in Toppenish. I have since learned that it is an early hop press. The dried hops were placed in the press which was lined with burlap. Horses then circled the press turning a screw which compacted the hops into bales in the burlap bags. They would be compressed to much less bulk than they would be without the pressing. Hop bales are huge, even after being compressed.
2 comments:
Interesting -- I would never have known.
Wow - a bit of history right there in front of you! I have never seen a hop press before.
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