State Fair visitors surrounded by the a wealth of entertainment and excitement from every corner may easily forget that it all started with agriculture. Just a few steps from barns housing New York’s finest livestock, the Daniel Parrish Witter Agricultural Museum animates a living history of the Empire State’s largest industry.
Throughout the building, the walls are covered with old-time tools and gadgets, all offering a great lesson in how hard life was before power tools and sophisticated machinery, when things were made of metal or wood, not plastic. Ingenuity, ornate decorative touches and beautiful design features distinguish these vintage items from today’s made-in-China junk.
Separate rooms, often staffed with demonstrators, focus on such craftwork as sewing and candle-making, while the grape-growing and winemaking alcove displays presses and bottles. 
Nearby, a tribute to the dairy industry includes a milk tester with tubes, milk cans, a separator, metal utensils and various other vessels. An 1850s woodworking shop shows a mill wheel turning under a waterfall. Full-sized wood-based vocations–coopering, logging and carpentry–are demonstrated nearby. One wall exhibit holds such larger farming equipment as plows, combines, scythes and fros.
The centerpiece of the museum is a life-sized replica of an 1876 log cabin, the walls are open to allow a clear view of the cozy living quarters. 
A quilt-draped trundle bed stands opposite a brick fireplace, complete with flaming logs. A paradoxically modern foyer features videos to inform and challenge visitors.
There’s no admission charge to visit the Agricultural Museum or the adjacent Carriage Museum, which are open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The schedule of demonstrations is on the Fair website, www.nysfair.ny.gov.
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