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DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. – North Carolina’s rich agricultural history is taking center stage this week as the 39th annual Old Southeast Threshers Reunion kicked off in Denton Tuesday.

Organizers began the popular event with an unofficial blessing from Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.

“I don’t think you can ever see the future without seeing the past,” Troxler said. “And this is the way we started in agriculture, and you’ll see everything here from steam power to actual horse power.”

The reunion started in 1970 as a way to raise money for the local rescue squad.

“The premise of this event is to share our history through [agriculture] because this is an [agriculture] state. And there are so many aspects that newcomers to North Carolina don’t know about,” promoter Greta Lint said. “You come out here to see old steam equipment, old gas equipment, the hit-or-miss engines that were regular on our farm.”

Today, the reunion is one of North Carolina’s biggest events, drawing an estimated 60,000 visitors to Denton Farm Park.

Every year, a caravan of RVs, campers and trailers make the pilgrimage.

“It’s not just N.C., it’s not just the southeastern U.S., it’s a global thing because of the history here,” Lint said.

The reunion runs through July 4 at Denton Farm Park from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The park is just off Highway 49 in Davidson County. Tickets are $12 for adults, $5 for kids 12 and under.