Here we find 100's of articles on how things were done on the farm before modern technology took hold. It was written in 1910 before cars and electricity were commonplace on most farms. After you've gone through the 300 or so articles on this page click on Small Farms Library at the bottom of the page. A lot (but not all) of this will make good reading also. Handy Farm Devices - Cobleigh - ToC
I've had it bookmarked for a long time now and recomend it highly to any one. Has a load of good stuff in it. Great find.
It's a shame you two are across the country from each other. Between the 2 of you you could wall in your land, live in total comfort, off grid, with full bellies every day, and never be seen again.