Nebraska State
HAND CORNHUSKING
Contest 2023

When you hear the word ‘cornhuskers’ in Nebraska, most people tend to think of the football team, but here at Stuhr Museum, the word means something different. Corn husking, corn-husking, or cornhusking, however you choose to spell it, simply means “the removal of the husk from an ear of corn,” making those who perform the task ‘cornhuskers.’

Cornhusking contests in the Midwest date back to the early 1920s, with the first contest being held by mail-in form in Iowa in 1922. By the following year, it was decided that the contest should be held in person, and several surrounding states joined by holding their own contests by the year after that. It didn’t take long for the idea of holding a National Hand Cornhusking Contest to come along, and in 1936, an article in TIME Magazine contained the following quote: “By 1930 champion cornhuskers from nine Corn Belt States were entered and the crowd had swelled to 30,000. Since then corn-husking has been the fastest growing sporting spectacle in the world. Last year, at Newtown, Ind., 110,000 spectators were on hand when Elmer Carlson of Audubon, Iowa, set the incredible record of 41½ bushels in 80 minutes, through the fat rows of Leslie Mitchell’s farm.”

Stuhr Museum is proud to be the new home of the Nebraska State Hand Cornhusking Contest beginning in 2023, and we hope that you can join us! The Cornhusking Contest will be held on September 16, 2023 beginning with opening ceremonies at 9:00 am and is expected to conclude in the early afternoon. There are lots of ways to be involved in the contest – click on the links below for more information!

CLICK HERE FOR THE 2023 CONTEST RESULTS