This tool was used for making brooms from the broomcorn plant, “sorghum vulgare”, prized not for cobs and kernels but for its long seed heads. They were first dried and then the broom pounder’s dull, straight edge was used to knock off the seeds. The heads were then ready to be bound together. Levi Dickinson of Hadley, Massachusetts, is credited with making the first broomcorn broom  in 1797. They proved to be popular and a new industry was born as farmers throughout the region began growing broomcorn and local factories started making the brooms. The invention of the foot treadle broom machine in 1810, sped production and improved quality. Towns in Central and Western Massachusetts had collectively become the broom capital of the world by the mid-19th century. Most brooms today are produced abroad.