OK Boss. My first contest. Not that I'm thinking of winning that hat, just that I think I've got a leg up. Which turns my thinking to your dog. Dog's eyes look like a Starwars puppy looking to eat a step stool or your mystery tool! I'd say it is a raddle. Wife has raddles for weaving. She strings threads through the slots to keep them from tangling. So for growers and such, I'd guess it might be used for laying out closely spaced strings for some crop I've never thought about. I'd guess tobacco as the more foreign crop for me, or cotton? As for which state in came from: The State of an Organized Mind vs. whatever kind of tangle I'd make.