Title:
Midwestern Farm Life at the Rob Forsyth Farm, 1940s
REEL ID:
L060R004
RUN TIME:
00:06:09
FORMAT:
16mm motion picture film
FILM TYPE:
Color Kodak Kolorchrome
SOUND:
Silent (no synchronized sound
Description:
This beautifully preserved 16mm Kodachrome home movie documents everyday life on a Midwestern farm during the 1940s, offering a vivid and pastoral portrait of American agriculture in the wartime and postwar era. Shot in rich color, the reel captures both the working rhythms and quiet beauty of rural farm life at the Rob Forsyth Farm.
The film opens with a car backing out of a garage, setting a domestic tone before transitioning to the surrounding landscape. Blooming flowers fill the frame, followed by wide views of open fields and red barns stretching across the horizon. A windmill turns in the distance near an old farmhouse standing alone in the field, anchoring the farm within a timeless rural setting.
Scenes of daily labor follow: a farmer works the land and later drives a tractor across the fields as corn sprouts break through the soil. Close-up shots of corn on the cob highlight the agricultural yield that defines the season. Livestock feature prominently throughout the reel—pigs eat at their troughs while piglets dart playfully across the farmyard. Goats and sheep gather beneath the shade of a tree, and a farm cat wanders casually through the property.
Family life is interwoven with the work of the farm. A family poses proudly in front of their farmhouse, framed by a white picket fence, embodying the connection between home, land, and livelihood. The reel concludes with a tranquil sunset, closing on a moment of stillness after a day shaped by labor, care, and tradition.
Together, these scenes form a rare and authentic record of Midwestern farm life in the 1940s—preserving the textures, colors, and routines of American rural history on analog film.
Tags:
Midwest, 1940s, 16mm Kodachrome, Farm life, Rural America, American agriculture, Rob Forsyth Farm, Red barns, Farmland, Fields, Windmill, Old farmhouse, Farmer working, Tractor, Cornfield, Corn sprouting, Corn on the cob, Livestock, Pigs, Piglets, Goats, Sheep, Farm cat, White picket fence, Family portrait, Blooming flowers, Sunset, Vintage Americana, Home movies, Postwar rural life, Agricultural history, Analog film, Nostalgic footage
