Heidrick Ag History Center

About Us:

The Heidrick Ag History Center:
930s     Fred Heidrick Sr. and his brother Joe show an aptitude for inventing and restoring tractors and other farm machinery.  By the 1990s, they have amassed an important collection.

1982       A.W. “Pop” Hays sells his A.W. Hays trucking business and continues developing his collection of vintage trucks.  He creates a nonprofit corporation and founds the Hays Antique Truck Museum to display the collection.

1992       Pop Hays passes away, and his son, Don Hays, takes over management of the Hays Antique Truck Museum.

1996       The Heidrick Museum Foundation begins to develop the facility that will become the Heidrick Ag History Center.  The Foundation offers the Hays Antique Truck Museum space to rent, which allows it to move to a larger facility.  In a 1996 news article, Don Hayes also notes that the Antique Truck Museum’s move is necessary because the truck museum property is being sold (Sacramento Business Journal, Sept. 23, 1996, pg. 9).   

1997       The Heidrick Ag History Center opens at 1962 Hays Lane.  The new facility includes a banquet room and kitchen, a courtyard, and glass corridors between two large exhibit halls.  Agricultural exhibits are featured in the West Gallery.  The Ag History Center’s tenant, the Hays Antique Truck Museum, occupies the East Gallery.

2008       The Heidrick Ag History Center transitions from family management under the Heidrick Museum Foundation to nonprofit status [501(c)(3)] under federal tax law.

2012       The Best 110 Steam Tractor arrives on loan from the Joe & Edith Heidrick Foundation.

2013       The Hays Antique Truck Museum moves their collection from Woodland, CA, to Reno, NV, to take advantage of new donor interest.