Antique tractors will rumble down Earls Bridge Road again this weekend as the 13th Annual Dacusville Farm Show returns to northern Pickens County with more than 70 vendors, a new kids' zone, and a lineup that ranges from a sawmill demonstration to an ugliest tractor competition. The two-day event runs Saturday and Sunday, September 5 and 6, at 3147 Earls Bridge Road in Easley, with gates opening at 8 a.m. Saturday and admission set at $10.
The show is presented by the Dacusville Heritage Association, a volunteer group that has kept the tradition alive for more than a decade, according to WSPA 7News. Beyond the vendor rows and food stalls, this year's event includes classic cars, tractor shows and competitions, and a flea market where local sellers will offer their goods alongside farm-focused exhibits. The station reports that vendors this year include Rise and Shine Sourdough and Fifteenmile Creek Farm, and that parking is free.
One of the weekend's signature moments, the Parade of Power, will roll several times throughout the weekend, giving collectors a chance to show off vintage tractors and engines in motion. The tradition dates back to the event's earliest incarnation as Dacusville Pioneer Farm Days, hosted on the farm of local resident Jimmy Robinson, according to historical reporting from the Pickens County Courier. That show gave equipment collectors a venue to run functioning antique farm machinery, a feature organizers carried into the modern event. Full parade scheduling details are posted on the Dacusville Heritage Association's Facebook page.
From a Family Tragedy to a Community-Run Tradition
The farm show's roots trace back to a painful turning point. Pioneer Farm Days was canceled after Jimmy Robinson's son died unexpectedly in 2011, according to the Pickens County Courier's account of the event's history. Rather than let the tradition disappear, local residents formed the Dacusville Heritage Association to keep the area's agricultural customs alive, eventually reviving the show at a new location.
That location is the 55-acre property along Earls Bridge Road belonging to the Turner family. In March, the heritage association's board announced a direct operational partnership with the Turners to streamline event management and logistics heading into this year's show, according to a video posted on the Dacusville Heritage Association's Facebook page. The farm show has taken place on Tom Turner's property since its revival, the announcement noted.
Military History and a New Kids' Zone
New this year is a kids' zone, aimed at giving families more to do beyond the tractor lots and vendor stalls, per WSPA's report. The show will also include a sawmill demonstration and a demonstration presented by the Military History Center of the Carolinas on Saturday. The Greenville-based museum, located near the Greenville Downtown Airport, grew out of a collectors club founded in the 1990s and now displays 20th-century U.S. military artifacts and restored vintage military vehicles, according to Living Upstate SC.
The Dacusville Heritage Association isn't only known for the farm show. The group operates out of the Dacusville Community Center, housed in the former Dacusville Elementary School building, where it also organizes the town's annual Christmas parade and supports youth and community initiatives, according to the Pickens County Courier. The former school also serves as a hub for civic groups and hosts the local community library.
Why an Antique Farm Show Still Resonates Here
The show's popularity reflects the rural character of the land around it. Dacusville itself is an unincorporated community recorded with a population of just 399 residents in the 2020 U.S. Census, per data cited via Wikipedia. The community was originally named after Archibald Dacus, who ran a trading post along an old Indian Road in the late 18th century.
That small-town setting sits within a county still shaped heavily by agriculture. The 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture found Pickens County contained 517 farms, with 58% spanning between 10 and 49 acres — a landscape dominated by small, family-owned operations, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. Over half of the county's farms reported total agricultural product sales under $2,500 in 2022, underscoring how modest most local operations remain. Countywide, rural land makes up 86% of Pickens County's 497 square miles, with more than 72,000 residents living in unincorporated areas, according to Pickens County Government data.
Local hospitality groups have historically pitched in to keep visitors comfortable during the Labor Day weekend heat. Nine Forks Baptist Church has set up volunteer booths at past events to support attendees through warm late-summer conditions, per the Pickens County Courier's coverage. Visitors heading to the area can also find nearby recreation along the Doodle Trail, an 8-mile paved path connecting Easley and Pickens along a converted historic rail line, according to Komoot.
