In northern Illinois, in a small town called Grand Detour on the Rock River, is the John Deere Historic Site. Their byline is “Discover where our story began”. Grand Detour is so named as the Rock River makes a huge horseshoe meander at that point.
When you hear “John Deere” what do you think of? Likely tractors. Tractors and agricultural and construction equipment of all shapes and sizes, as that is what the company makes these days. The present-day company, Deere and Company (but often still called John Deere), is today one of the largest manufacturers of agricultural and construction equipment in the world.
But, if we go back a little we find that actually the man John Deere (1804-1886) had nothing to do with tractors. He was enormously important in the history of agricultural practices though. He was a blacksmith and he first invented and made a steel plow in 1837 that could easily plow the very clay-y and sticky Midwest soils. Prior to that, farmers used wooden and cast-iron plows, which really couldn’t handle that type of soil.
He did this by making a plow that scoured the sticky prairie soil from the curved blade, which also helped turn the soil over. His special plow became known as “the plow that broke the plains”, as it helped change the Midwest into the fertile farmland we know today.
In 1838, Deere built 2 more plows, and the following year he built 10 plows and sold them for $10-12 each. Many farmers were soon ordering Deere’s steel plows. With more research, hard work, and customer feedback John Deere’s business boomed and by 1849 it was producing 2,000 plows a year.
We visited the John Deere Historic Site one afternoon earlier this year when we were staying in Oregon, Illinois, nearby. It’s a large enclosed park-like area, with a number of buildings. Entrance is free and you can wander at will, but the day we were there a volunteer guide took us around and explained things. It’s a good way to learn about the man whose name now graces all that modern equipment. The focus is on his time spent in Grand Detour, but we picked up many other snippets of information too.
You go first to what they call the Archeological Site, which is the exact location where Deere had his blacksmith shop and forge and developed that first famous plow. Over the years it had got covered over and the site forgotten. But, it was found again, and archeologists from the University of Illinois conducted the dig. At the entrance are a number of very good information boards and inside you sit on benches overlooking the site, watch a short movie about Deere and his life, and the guide fills in with more details.
In 1919 Catherine Deere Butterworth, the youngest daughter of John Deere’s son Charles, bought 8 lots here in Grand Detour, including the house, as she was dedicated to preserving her grandfather’s legacy. In 1949 she sold it to Deere and Company, and in 1958 it was transferred to the John Deere Foundation. In 1962 archeological work began.
Next door is a small blacksmith shop based on a reconstruction of the original, where a blacksmith was demonstrating how to mold a piece of steel in the hot fire. He took a steel rod about 8 inches long and fashioned a quite ornate hook for keys or a backpack, which he gave to our little granddaughter!
In the garden close by are replicas of Deere’s first steel plow, and other plows he made, plus a statue of John Deere working his trade.
Next, we walked to the Deere family home, and got some idea of how the family lived, cooked, cleaned and played in those days. Interestingly, there is a well on the front porch.
We had a fun visit, and enjoyed walking in the gardens a little too.
A Bit of Background:
John Deere was born in Rutland, Vermont in 1804 and was a blacksmith’s apprentice for many years. He died in 1886 (aged 82) in Moline, Illinois. He married Demarius Lamb in 1827 and, after she died, he married her sister. He had 9 children, but I’m not sure if they were all with his first wife.
He left Vermont to escape bankruptcy, apparently, and moved west, arriving in Grand Detour in 1836. A man called Leonard Andrus founded the town of Grand Detour in 1833. Andrus returned to Vermont to recruit settlers, which is how John Deere heard of it. He became the area’s only skilled blacksmith, general repairman and manufacturer of tools, like pitchforks and shovels, when he set up shop in 1836. What put him into the annals of history, though, is that he invented the first commercially successful steel plow in 1837. By 1838 he had built a house for his family, whom he brought out from Vermont, and established a forge.
In 1848 he sold his house and moved to Moline, Illinois, so his business could have access to the Mississippi River and the railroad (which Grand Detour did not have).
In 1848, after he’d moved to Moline, John Deere partnered with Robert Tate and John Gould and they built a factory, which was very productive. Deere bought out Tate and Gould in 1863, and in 1868, he incorporated his business as Deere and Company, which was largely run by his son Charles.
In the 1870s a successful riding plow, called a sulky plow, was developed.
In 1892, John Froelich invented and built the first gasoline/petrol-powered tractor in Clayton County, Iowa.
The John Deere Model D tractor was introduced in 1923 and became the first tractor built, marketed, and named John Deere. It replaced the Waterloo Boy tractor in the company’s product line.
And I guess you could say that the rest is history!
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