Back in the day where side-show peculiarities were a top draw, James Dean Avery wondered how his enormous steer might become a business.
Advice books, almanacs and periodicals of the 1800s encouraged farmers to improve farming techniques and try new methods. Many farmers did not readily adopt these new ideas. Agricultural reformers in this period enjoyed far greater success in creating a vehicle to bring farmers together and highlight innovative and high-performing agricultural practices: the regional fair. In the 19th century, in a ritual that continues in many areas today, farmers exhibited the biggest and best of their livestock and produce at regional fairs. Fair organizers rewarded farmers who produced top-of-the-line livestock and crops with prizes and publicity.
Oxen had long been used as draft animals on farms. In the 1820s American farmers were beginning to use more horses. Horses could be ridden and were faster. Elsewhere, they were better suited for the larger farms of the west. Oxen began to become rarer all over the United States and were almost entirely replaced by horses by 1900, but for those remaining they became part of the spot light.
Farmers in the Middle Connecticut Valley region became famous for raising immense stall-fed oxen. Farmers bought oxen in the fall and fattened them through the winter. By spring, a carefully chosen diet and extremely limited exercise produced extremely large animals. The oxen were then driven to the cattleyards in Brighton, near Boston, or New York.
Oxen had long been used as draft animals on farms. In the 1820s American farmers were beginning to use more horses. Horses could be ridden and were faster. Elsewhere, they were better suited for the larger farms of the west. Oxen began to become rarer all over the United States and were almost entirely replaced by horses by 1900, but for those remaining they became part of the spot light.
Farmers in the Middle Connecticut Valley region became famous for raising immense stall-fed oxen. Farmers bought oxen in the fall and fattened them through the winter. By spring, a carefully chosen diet and extremely limited exercise produced extremely large animals. The oxen were then driven to the cattleyards in Brighton, near Boston, or New York.
Text Courtesy of Pocumtuk Valley Memorial Association's Memorial Hall Museum, Deerfield, MA
Jim Avery's Oxen
The following information provided by the BHS was published in "Digital Commonwealth; Massachusetts Collection Online"
"James D. Avery was the son of David and Prudence (Dean) Avery. He was born in 1848 in Charlemont, Mass., where he secured his early education. According to the History of Buckland 1779–1935, author Fannie Shaw Kendrick writes that J.D. Avery came to Buckland in 1872 and immediately took front rank in the business life of the town, many times selectman, rendering valuable services as an assessor, a county commissioner for many years, a successful business man and responding generously to every call for financial aid. Avery was also president of the Deerfield Valley Agricultural Society and serviced as County Commissioner.
Kendrick also tells us, “For fifty years he made his home in Buckland, carrying on most successfully a large farm and became especially well known as a breeder of fancy stock." His big oxen were famous in exhibits for many years at New England County Fairs. Mr. Avery‘s stationary from the 1900’s describes one of his oxen as, “The Largest and Handsomest Ox in the world. Jerry’s actual weight 4,365 lbs; height 17 Hands; girth, 10 ft 3 in; length 15 ft 11 in from tip to tip; a pure bred Holstein; Product of New England; A marvel of gigantic grace and beauty.” The stationary includes multiple quotes from newspapers, including this one from Toronto World, “If there is one show above another that should receive the attention of visitors, the massive Holstein Ox, owned by Mr. Jas. D. Avery, should certainly receive that consideration. The size of the animal being in your approach to an elephant. The exhibition is not essentially for persons interested in cattle, but should be seen by every lady and child visiting the grounds.” [Selected articles from an article in the Farm Quarterly Summer 1958 (Volume 13, No 2) entitled “Jim Avery’s Big Oxen.”]
One of the minor unsolved mysteries of the livestock world is what Jim Avery fed his cattle. Before antibiotics and hormones and high-protein mixed feeds were even a twinkle in the eye of a scientist, Jim produced the biggest cattle in the world; his prizes were Mack and Teddy, monsters whose weight went way beyond the two ton mark. But Jim kept his mouth shut, and took his secret to the grave.
He was well along in years and making good money in the lumber business when he bought Jim and Joe, three-year-old Holstein steers. He saw at once that he had a pair of unusual animals, and decided to try out a theory of feed and feeding he had been turning over in his mind for a long time. Both did well, but his namesake, Jim, died. So he bought Jerry and went on with his feeding. Both eventually went beyond two tons in weight. Each had a magnificent pair of curving horns, which Jim tipped with shining brass and kept in a high polish, and they had sleek, velvety coats.
Being a canny businessman, Jim took them around the county fair circuits in New England and New York, charging a dime look, and cleaned up. Joe and Jerry, big and famous as they were, did not satisfy Jim Avery. He thought he could do better. He settled for a pair of three year olds, also Holsteins, from Connecticut. This team was Jim’s dream come true. He named them Mack and Teddy, and they eventually became the world’s largest oxen. Mack alone weighted 4,700 pounds.
A neighbor recalls, “It was a big day when Jim loaded each one into a horse-drawn lumber wagon and drove four miles into Shelburne falls where they boarded a train and headed for the fair circuit. The venture proved very profitable, even at the small 10 cent admission, as practically everyone who came to the fair went in to see them. They showed at Madison Square Garden in the show called Country Fair. The management made them unload at 2 a.m. as they had to walk to the Garden and they wanted as few people as possible to see them.” A crew of three went with them. Jim’s nephew Francis Avery remembers them as the biggest Eaton’ cattle he ever saw. He says, “Each one would eat a half bushel of shelled grain at a feeding, and drink six pails of water, besides a pile of hay as high as your head.”
No one knew how much Mack and Teddy could pull, since they never enter the contest. However, the manager of the Brattleboro Fair, looking for a special attraction for the last day, offered Jim Avery $100 if Mack and Teddy pulled a stone boat with an 11,000 pound load six feet. The two animals waited patiently while 11,284 pounds of stone were weighed and stacked on the boat. Then at a word from Jim they lowered their heads, flicked their tails, and walked away with the load. Jim had trouble in stopping them, as they were headed for the barn, and it was feeding time.
People often ask Jim how he had grown the biggest cattle in the world. He’d always smile and change the subject. A neighbor and contemporary, Dr. R. N. Shaw, a veterinarian, may have a clue to Jim‘s feeding. He explains it this way: “First, Jim Avery’s hobby was fine-looking livestock, especially working oxen. He made a fortune in the lumber business, which started as a sideline on his farm, therefore he could afford to blow a little money on his hobby. He owned a heard of 35 or 40 milking cows, the source of most of the income from his farm. This was a period when there was practically nothing known about feeding, so he had to figure it all out himself and use the feeds available on his own farm. The answer quite obviously is MILK. We all know that the average ox won’t drink milk if he can get water. I believe Jim withheld water from them until they were glad to drink anything that was wet. After they had acquired the taste for milk I believe that was the only thing they were allowed to drink during their growing period, which is nine years.“
After the round of fairs was over, Teddy and Mack went back to the yoke and worked regularly on Jim‘s farm. Teddy died when he was 12 years old, and Mack at 15. Since that time, there have been various claimants for the title “Biggest Ox in The World,“ but Mack, champion in 1900, remains champion today [1958].
Kendrick also tells us, “For fifty years he made his home in Buckland, carrying on most successfully a large farm and became especially well known as a breeder of fancy stock." His big oxen were famous in exhibits for many years at New England County Fairs. Mr. Avery‘s stationary from the 1900’s describes one of his oxen as, “The Largest and Handsomest Ox in the world. Jerry’s actual weight 4,365 lbs; height 17 Hands; girth, 10 ft 3 in; length 15 ft 11 in from tip to tip; a pure bred Holstein; Product of New England; A marvel of gigantic grace and beauty.” The stationary includes multiple quotes from newspapers, including this one from Toronto World, “If there is one show above another that should receive the attention of visitors, the massive Holstein Ox, owned by Mr. Jas. D. Avery, should certainly receive that consideration. The size of the animal being in your approach to an elephant. The exhibition is not essentially for persons interested in cattle, but should be seen by every lady and child visiting the grounds.” [Selected articles from an article in the Farm Quarterly Summer 1958 (Volume 13, No 2) entitled “Jim Avery’s Big Oxen.”]
One of the minor unsolved mysteries of the livestock world is what Jim Avery fed his cattle. Before antibiotics and hormones and high-protein mixed feeds were even a twinkle in the eye of a scientist, Jim produced the biggest cattle in the world; his prizes were Mack and Teddy, monsters whose weight went way beyond the two ton mark. But Jim kept his mouth shut, and took his secret to the grave.
He was well along in years and making good money in the lumber business when he bought Jim and Joe, three-year-old Holstein steers. He saw at once that he had a pair of unusual animals, and decided to try out a theory of feed and feeding he had been turning over in his mind for a long time. Both did well, but his namesake, Jim, died. So he bought Jerry and went on with his feeding. Both eventually went beyond two tons in weight. Each had a magnificent pair of curving horns, which Jim tipped with shining brass and kept in a high polish, and they had sleek, velvety coats.
Being a canny businessman, Jim took them around the county fair circuits in New England and New York, charging a dime look, and cleaned up. Joe and Jerry, big and famous as they were, did not satisfy Jim Avery. He thought he could do better. He settled for a pair of three year olds, also Holsteins, from Connecticut. This team was Jim’s dream come true. He named them Mack and Teddy, and they eventually became the world’s largest oxen. Mack alone weighted 4,700 pounds.
A neighbor recalls, “It was a big day when Jim loaded each one into a horse-drawn lumber wagon and drove four miles into Shelburne falls where they boarded a train and headed for the fair circuit. The venture proved very profitable, even at the small 10 cent admission, as practically everyone who came to the fair went in to see them. They showed at Madison Square Garden in the show called Country Fair. The management made them unload at 2 a.m. as they had to walk to the Garden and they wanted as few people as possible to see them.” A crew of three went with them. Jim’s nephew Francis Avery remembers them as the biggest Eaton’ cattle he ever saw. He says, “Each one would eat a half bushel of shelled grain at a feeding, and drink six pails of water, besides a pile of hay as high as your head.”
No one knew how much Mack and Teddy could pull, since they never enter the contest. However, the manager of the Brattleboro Fair, looking for a special attraction for the last day, offered Jim Avery $100 if Mack and Teddy pulled a stone boat with an 11,000 pound load six feet. The two animals waited patiently while 11,284 pounds of stone were weighed and stacked on the boat. Then at a word from Jim they lowered their heads, flicked their tails, and walked away with the load. Jim had trouble in stopping them, as they were headed for the barn, and it was feeding time.
People often ask Jim how he had grown the biggest cattle in the world. He’d always smile and change the subject. A neighbor and contemporary, Dr. R. N. Shaw, a veterinarian, may have a clue to Jim‘s feeding. He explains it this way: “First, Jim Avery’s hobby was fine-looking livestock, especially working oxen. He made a fortune in the lumber business, which started as a sideline on his farm, therefore he could afford to blow a little money on his hobby. He owned a heard of 35 or 40 milking cows, the source of most of the income from his farm. This was a period when there was practically nothing known about feeding, so he had to figure it all out himself and use the feeds available on his own farm. The answer quite obviously is MILK. We all know that the average ox won’t drink milk if he can get water. I believe Jim withheld water from them until they were glad to drink anything that was wet. After they had acquired the taste for milk I believe that was the only thing they were allowed to drink during their growing period, which is nine years.“
After the round of fairs was over, Teddy and Mack went back to the yoke and worked regularly on Jim‘s farm. Teddy died when he was 12 years old, and Mack at 15. Since that time, there have been various claimants for the title “Biggest Ox in The World,“ but Mack, champion in 1900, remains champion today [1958].
The proud owner of this giant ox celebrated his animal's tremendous size by posing for these whimsical photographs.
Image of J. Avery and his steer from BHS collection
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Image of J. Avery and his steer from BHS collection
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Los Angeles Herald, Volume 26, Number 334, 30 August 1897
THE WORLD'S LARGEST OXEN—PROPERTY OF J. D. AVERY OF BUCKLAND, MASSACHUSETTS
California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research,
University of California, Riverside, BUCKLAND, Mass., Aug. 23—(Special Correspondence to The Herald.) Every community has something of which it makes particular boast, but this town has a pair of oxen that beat the world. Of that there can be no question. They are bovine giants par excellence, for each measures ten feet in girth, stands seventeen hands high, and from tip to tip measures fifteen feet, eleven inches. If there are any prize oxen in the country that make as good a showing as this the town of Buckland would like to hear of it. Joe and Jerry have lived in this world eight years, and in that time have managed to accomplish more than any of their brethren. They are thoroughbreds, pure Holsteins, big framed animals always. Just as the Holstein cow is the biggest milk producer of any breed, so these representatives of the opposite sex have shown the way in the matter of flesh production. They are black and white, like all of their breed, and it is the most glistening 7300 pounds that the observer sees in motion when they move about you can find in the old Bay state. When it comes to having a pull these big animals make nothing at all of hauling about a dray containing 11,000 pounds of stone, and are willing to do a lot better if they are asked to . There is no pair of horses in the United States that can equal that record, and this and various other things explains why it is that their owner, Mr. Avery, has such a fine collection of blue ribbons that Joe and Jerry have won at agricultural fairs. An amateur might just as well try to race Eddie Bald on a bicycle track as for any ordinary ox to try to compete with Joe and Jerry. In the matter of weight they join the march of progress, every year, and this year tip the beam at just 700 pounds more than twelve months ago. Most people would think that the pair had approached their limit, but Mr. Avery, their owner, says there is none so far as they are concerned, and he has no idea where they will stop. There are a great many people would like to own them, and while Mr. Avery appreciates the compliment, he does not intend to dispose of such a splendid pair of working animals.
The two are given the best of care, for one man devotes four hours a day cleaning and grooming them. Docile as a baby elephant, a child can move about them without fear of injury, unless It happens to fall under their feet. They are exemplifications of the fact that good nature and fat travel in the same class. It must not be thought because they are made so much of they do not work, for their owner believes that all play and no work makes an ox a dull brute, just as it makes Jack a dull boy. Thus there is no danger of their becoming mere toys.
Now, while Joe and Jerry are very big and have so much more flesh than falls to the average lot of oxen, they are beautifully proportioned, and the bigger they get the better are their proportions. They are neither too broad in the beam nor too long in the reach for their size. In fact they remind you of nothing more than that great creature that the scientists have represented to us as the pre-historic ox. This description of ox is said to have had tremendous horns, but they surely were no larger than those of Joe and Jerry. The Holstein breed of cattle have very large horns always, and these two leading specimens have fairly outdone their race in horns as in other questions.
They stand as erect as Fitzsimmons, and they look at you with the guileless expression of the ingenue. But they are deep, even if they are not vicious. They know a lot and can perform tricks that would surprise you. They will shake hands with the docility of a Scotch collie, and to please Mr. Avery will sometimes waltz a bit. Think of a 3500 pound ox waltzing. So active are they despite their tremendous weight that they can walk a mile in thirty minutes without a drop of prespiration resulting. Two miles an hour may not seem very rapid locomotion, but when 3500 pounds are on the four legs which make it, that puts another construction on the affair.
One trouble Mr. Avery has with them which he cannot remedy, and that is that it is very unpleasant when he is driving them along a highway and meets people. Either Joe or Jerry will take up nearly the whole road, and when the road is narrow and the fences close a quandary immediately presents Itself. It is an actual fact that the other day Mr. Avery had to unyoke them when circumstances happened to be as described.
Buckland is very proud of its prize curiosities, and bets are being made as to how much Joe and Jerry will gain during next year. Whenever any one comes to Buckland nowadays and wants to see the sights the first thing everyone says is: "Show them Joe and Jerry."
The two are given the best of care, for one man devotes four hours a day cleaning and grooming them. Docile as a baby elephant, a child can move about them without fear of injury, unless It happens to fall under their feet. They are exemplifications of the fact that good nature and fat travel in the same class. It must not be thought because they are made so much of they do not work, for their owner believes that all play and no work makes an ox a dull brute, just as it makes Jack a dull boy. Thus there is no danger of their becoming mere toys.
Now, while Joe and Jerry are very big and have so much more flesh than falls to the average lot of oxen, they are beautifully proportioned, and the bigger they get the better are their proportions. They are neither too broad in the beam nor too long in the reach for their size. In fact they remind you of nothing more than that great creature that the scientists have represented to us as the pre-historic ox. This description of ox is said to have had tremendous horns, but they surely were no larger than those of Joe and Jerry. The Holstein breed of cattle have very large horns always, and these two leading specimens have fairly outdone their race in horns as in other questions.
They stand as erect as Fitzsimmons, and they look at you with the guileless expression of the ingenue. But they are deep, even if they are not vicious. They know a lot and can perform tricks that would surprise you. They will shake hands with the docility of a Scotch collie, and to please Mr. Avery will sometimes waltz a bit. Think of a 3500 pound ox waltzing. So active are they despite their tremendous weight that they can walk a mile in thirty minutes without a drop of prespiration resulting. Two miles an hour may not seem very rapid locomotion, but when 3500 pounds are on the four legs which make it, that puts another construction on the affair.
One trouble Mr. Avery has with them which he cannot remedy, and that is that it is very unpleasant when he is driving them along a highway and meets people. Either Joe or Jerry will take up nearly the whole road, and when the road is narrow and the fences close a quandary immediately presents Itself. It is an actual fact that the other day Mr. Avery had to unyoke them when circumstances happened to be as described.
Buckland is very proud of its prize curiosities, and bets are being made as to how much Joe and Jerry will gain during next year. Whenever any one comes to Buckland nowadays and wants to see the sights the first thing everyone says is: "Show them Joe and Jerry."
Image and Text Courtesy of Pocumtuk Valley Memorial Association's Memorial Hall Museum, Deerfield, MA
James Avery of Buckland, Massachusetts, made a business from showing his record-breaking oxen at county fairs and shows across the country. He made it his mission to raise the world's largest oxen. And he was successful. His largest ox, Mack, weighed 4,760 pounds when he died in 1906.
Avery had been interested in oxen from his earliest days, but in 1893 he took a pair of large, although not record-breaking oxen, and began to feed and work them. By the end of 1893, they together weighed 6,100 pounds. When one died, he replaced him. He eventually owned six big oxen. His largest ox, Mack, weighed 4,760 pounds. James Avery exhibited his oxen from 1894 to 1906.
Avery had been interested in oxen from his earliest days, but in 1893 he took a pair of large, although not record-breaking oxen, and began to feed and work them. By the end of 1893, they together weighed 6,100 pounds. When one died, he replaced him. He eventually owned six big oxen. His largest ox, Mack, weighed 4,760 pounds. James Avery exhibited his oxen from 1894 to 1906.
Image and Text Courtesy of Pocumtuk Valley Memorial Association's Memorial Hall Museum, Deerfield, MA
This postcard shows one measure of oxen strength, the weight pull. Oxen were harnessed to a sled loaded with weight. They were then urged to pull it a specified distance. Avery's oxen broke the world record in the pull twice. Their heaviest load pulled was 11,284 pounds.
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When James Avery of Buckland, Massachusetts, arrived in town with his giant oxen, he would hire advertisers to promote him and his giant oxen. These steer were shown at county fairs and other shows in New England and eventually across America, he set up a tent and sold admission.
Image and Text Courtesy of Pocumtuk Valley Memorial Association's Memorial Hall Museum, Deerfield, MA
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This poster promoted the oxen in the 1890s and promises that visiting the giant animals would "please the Ladies and Children," and other promotional material reassured visitors that the oxen were gentle and well-behaved
Image and Text Courtesy of Pocumtuk Valley Memorial Association's Memorial Hall Museum, Deerfield, MA
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Image and Text Courtesy of Pocumtuk Valley Memorial Association's Memorial Hall Museum, Deerfield, MA
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Image and Text Courtesy of Pocumtuk Valley Memorial Association's Memorial Hall Museum, Deerfield, MA
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Mack was a particularly impressive example of an ox renowned for his stature. Mack traveled to numerous fairs where appreciative audiences willingly parted with ten cents to view this enormous animal. Mack was the best-known giant ox in the region, but other farmers enjoyed showing off their success in raising immense cattle.
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Jerry was a particularly impressive example of an animal renowned for his stature. Note how his handlers hid Jerry from view to passers-by. The banner aroused curiosity, but only those willing to pay ten cents to view this ox of extraordinary size could enter the tent.
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And in the end
After the Civil War, a growing network of railroads began transporting western range cattle to the east. Although farmers continued to raise large oxen, the coming of the railroads signaled the end of the heyday of the stall-fed ox. By 1906 Avery's shows were no longer profitable and he stopped touring.
For many of these original photos and texts please check out Pockumtuk Valley Memorial Association's digital collection at www.americancenturies.mass.edu.
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