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Chris Hardie For Agri-View
Jan 17, 2026
Jan 17, 2026

1 of 3

The first of five Franklin “stove” designs comes complete with assembly instructions in 1744.

Mercer Museum Library of the Bucks County Historical Society, #04519

An advertisement from the early 1970s shows a Franklin stove similar to the one Chris Hardie had in his house growing up.

Chris Hardie/For Agri-View

The original stove design from Ben Franklin has issues but is an improvement when compared to stone fireplaces.

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Chris Hardie For Agri-View

The glow of the holidays is in the rear-view mirror. It’s time to strap in for the long ride of winter.

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Assembly instructions for the first Franklin “stove” in 1744 are detailed and carefully drawn. Yale University-Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

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Chris Hardie and his wife, Sherry, live on his great-grandparents’ Jackson County farm. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2001, he is a former member of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council and past president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. His book “Back Home: Country Tales by the Seasons” is available through Amazon.