Tractor History
Tractors have been a mainstay of agricultural operations around the world for about a century, with their humble beginnings as powered plows to the contemporary selection of farm equipment that trivializes farm work that once took dozens of workers to complete. Long-lasting, durable, and bristling with power, tractors have revolutionized farming and we owe our thanks to these iconic machines for making modern living so abundant with agricultural products.
At Burrows Tractor, our love and respect for our dealership’s namesake and focus should be clear to all who stop by one of our locations, and in that spirit we’ve put together a short article about the tractor’s history. Read on for more information or visit us in Yakima and Wenatchee, Washington, or our location in North Plains, Oregon.
Early Development: Traction Engines
Go back about a hundred years and farm equipment was still mostly manually powered, either by human workers or driven by a host of draft animals. Farming is still hard work, but it was even harder back then. There were steam powered farm machines, but they were extremely slow, hard to maneuver around obstacles, and had the unfortunate tendency to explode.
John Froelich changed that. Operating out of a Iowa village named after his father, Froelich developed the first gas-powered traction engine in 1892. His gas-powered traction engine was a beloved replacement to the steam models, as no farmer likes to deal with the clear and present threat of explosive equipment!
Gasoline rose to prominence as the traction engine fuel of choice. Froelich’s traction engine, a combination of these earlier ideas, was the first farm machine with forward and reverse gears. Froelich connected his tractor to a thresher during harvest in South Dakota and successfully threshed wheat.
Around the same time, two mechanical engineering students from the University of Wisconsin, Charles Parr and Charles Hart, developed a new gasoline-powered engine. They founded the Hart-Parr Gasoline Engine Company in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1897, shifting production to Iowa at the turn of the century. They coined the term “tractor” and produced the very first successful American tractor in 1901.
20th Century Innovations
The Waterloo company invested in tractor research in 1911, which eventually led to the development of a kerosine engine that competed with gasoline early in the 20th century. But a bigger development would come In 1918 when the Illinois-based farm equipment enterprise Deere & Company bought out the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company.
The grandson-in-law of company founder John Deere and head of the group, William Butterworth saw the potential of tractors and continued to produce the Waterloo Boy model until 1923, when the first John Deere Model D tractor was introduced.
Of course, there were other manufactures and other tractors all competing to build new and better tractors. This eventually led to price drops, making tractors more affordable for farmers who could now increase the productivity of their farms with these labor-reducing machines.
Tractors designs became smaller and lighter, making them more efficient machines. Even Henry Ford got in on tractor manufacturing, building a tractor called the Fordson. It saw wide international use by the 1920s, and this brand was made in England through 1964, although its American counterpart ceased production in 1928.
International heavy manufacturers began to build and market their own tractors during the mid-20th century, like Lamborghini in Italy and Mahindra in India. Both of these companies manufactured tractors starting in 1948, both for domestic and international markets. Continual improvements and innovations have led to lighter, faster, and more efficient tractors than their steam-powered ancestors, making them essential for a variety of industries, from farming to logging.
Hopefully getting to know a bit about tractor history has gotten you ready to take a look at some great new and used farm equipment for yourself. If that’s the case, head down to Burrows Tractor. We have locations in Yakima and Wenatchee, Washington, as well as North Plains, Oregon, and we proudly serve Portland, as well as Kennewick, Ellensburg, and Richland, Washington. Come in today and speak with our team of courteous professionals ready to answer all your tractor questions and help you find what you’re looking for.