Frogmore Print Shop

As one of the few structures built directly onsite rather than moved, this brick print shop stands as a mechanical time capsule born from a chance inquiry during Dr. John Freeman’s return to Miller, South Dakota. While visiting the town where he had spent his first year of medical practice, Dr. Freeman asked the local newspaper owner a simple question: “What happened to your old ‘hot metal machines’ when you switched to computers?” In response, the owner led him to the Wessington Times Enterprise shop, which had been shuttered for over thirty years. Stepping inside was like stepping back in history; the shop was perfectly preserved, right down to the 1910 Linotype machine. Upon learning the entire collection was destined for the scrap heap, Dr. Freeman secured it for a bargain
 
After Benny Macon and Johnny Tritt transported the equipment to Green Frog Farm, the shop was rounded out with additional machinery from the Jackson Sun and Crockett Times. The building itself is a collage of history, featuring front window panels and oak beaded ceiling boards donated by Hamilton Parks from the 1895 Tremble Bank. At the heart of the shop sits a working 1910 Linotype machine, a device Thomas Edison called the “eighth wonder of the world” for revolutionizing the industry as significantly as the Gutenberg press. Today, the shop remains active under the skilled hands of Charlie Oliver, the last Linotype operator in West Tennessee, who still operates it for printing jobs.