Pat Harvey Ford Truck Collection

History

Homer Harvey and its Beginnings

Located just south of Crawfordville, Pat Harvey’s unique collection of rusted Ford cars and trucks sits in a field overgrown with vines and grass, neatly arranged in chronological order from the early 1900s to the mid-1970s. Initially, Harvey intended to haul the old vehicles off for scrap metal; however, after lining them up along the highway around 1997, he came to like the way they looked and decided to leave them exactly as they were.

These vehicles originally belonged to Harvey’s father, Homer Harvey, on the family farm and were later used for parts to keep other equipment running. According to Pat, his father did a bit of everything: logging, making turpentine, boiling up cane syrup, raising chickens, hogs, and cattle. In 1936, he made enough to purchase his first new vehicles, a family car and a pickup truck for himself. Harvey pushed this pickup hard, hauling trees out of the woods and carrying loads into town.

He never traded in a car. Eventually needing a new one, he figured that the old truck, with its flathead V-8, would be good for parts. This ingenuity extended beyond just automobiles, as he built his own house in 1941 and had it bricked over twenty years later.

Fond Memories

Arranged in a semi-circle, the vehicle collection spans from the early 1900s to the mid-1970s in chronological order, consisting mostly of Fords. The collection holds deep sentimental value for Harvey, featuring the 1941 Ford pickup he first rode in, the ’59 Ford he took his driver’s test in and used for dates, and his family’s first car, a dark green station wagon.

There’s also a cattle truck that served a purpose far beyond standard farm work; it was also used for leisure. Harvey fondly recalls the thrill of sitting on a makeshift wooden board placed across the back of the truck bed as it cruised down the highway, catching the rushing wind and splatting bugs face-first, much like riding a motorcycle without a windshield. He also remembers fondly all the times at the drive-in theater in Medart, perched up on the truck alongside his siblings.

Public Display

While Harvey has long been amazed by the countless travelers who stop to admire the display, the collection has unfortunately suffered from vandalism, with thieves stripping away emblems, chrome, and radiators for scrap metal. Despite this ongoing frustration, Harvey refuses to remove the vehicles from the property. Furthermore, because the family accumulated the collection long before local ordinances banned keeping junk cars in public view, the property has been grandfathered in, sparing them from city interference.

Today, the collection is even recognized by Wakulla County as an official point of interest along the nationally designated Big Bend Scenic Byway, shared alongside historic landmarks like the Saint Mark’s Lighthouse. As of November 2023, though, the collection is no longer accessible to the public. The Harveys posted on Facebook that “Until further notice, The Harvey Historic Trucks (old rusted trucks) off Crawfordville Hwy will be closed to the public. More information will be given at a later date. Please respect the “no parking” and “no trespassing” signs and rope, as this is private property!“

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