(ABC 6 News-) They helped transform untamed prairies into the most productive farmland on the planet.

The Cedar Valley Memories annual Steam & Power show was held this weekend in Osage, showcasing hundreds of antique farm and industry implements from an era when coal-fueled steam was the primary workhorse of many farms.

“It’s all about preserving that history, carrying it on,” said show chair Elijah Gansen. “We have some one-of-a-kind pieces here that we care for, intending to preserve it for the next generation.”

A Reeves 40-140 Cross Compound is the largest of all known steam traction engines, and Cedar Valley Memories proudly exhibits the only one in the world known in operation.  Built in 1912 in Columbus, Indiana, it is part of the Ed & Ray Smolik collection on permanent display at the museum since the nineties.

The late Smolik Brothers served as mentors to Gansen in operating the machinery.

“They traveled all over and found a lot of pieces, brought them back to Iowa in some cases needing a lot of repair,” he says. “It was very important to them that we carry it on, so we do.”

Other exhibits and events featured throughout the weekend include steam and gas-powered threshing machines, corn shuckers and water pumps, antique knitting machines from Fox River Mills.

Scavenger hunts, food and craft vendors, a youth tractor pull and silent auction rounded out the weekend’s events.

The Mitchell County Historical Society is fundraising to build a new $2.2 million museum and headquarters at the site of Cedar Valley Memories, home to several other permanent exhibits, including the Smolik collection, an 1857 schoolhouse (originally located near Rock Creek) and antique knitting machines from Fox River Mills.