The Tractor Rumbles To Life

The scene of a farmer astride a John Deere tractor, the sun beating down as he moves through rows of fields, seems a familiar part of the American landscape. But the iconic and seemingly ubiquitous farm tractor has only been part of the farming scene for a little less than 100 years.  It was preceded for a few decades by more crudely made machines manufactured by The Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company. And before that even by even more cumbersome steam powered tractors.  The gasoline powered tractor manufacturing industry rumbled to life in fits and starts in 1892 in the farming state of Iowa. The difficult, unwieldy and often dangerous steam engine tractor proved less than ideal for farm tasks. These farm machines were large, heavy, expensive and complicated to operate. It was not unusual for them to explode and sometimes even set a field on fire with flying sparks.  John Froelich, a local businessmen versed in the difficulties of using steam engine tractors, believed there had to be a better way. He thought mounting a gasoline powered engine on the running gear of a steam one would provide the solution. With help from his blacksmith Will Mann, he designed and assembled the first gasoline powered tractor. It did not run as smoothly as hoped, but it ran well enough and was also able to go both forwards and backwards and power a threshing machine.

Froelich decided to manufacture his invention believing there would be a great demand for such a marvel. Backers helped him set up a manufacturing facility which they named The Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company (after the small town of Waterloo, Iowa where it was located).  The earliest tractors manufactured were not a great success. Only two were sold (then returned). Froelich continued undaunted working towards developing a machine that farmers would want to purchase hoping they would regard the machine an indispensable piece of farm equipment. It took him almost 20 years to begin to see his goal come to pass.  In 1913 The Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company offered the Model “LA”. Twenty were sold. Next came the Model “R”, of which 118 were sold. By 1918 the company had devised an improved design and sold 8,076 Model “R” tractors. Once farmers embraced the gasoline powered tractor, competition sprouted and the Waterloo Company was no longer the only game in town.

The John Deere Company had existed as a manufacturer of farm equipment since around 1837 in various incarnations. Along with other farm implements they had manufactured a few tractors, but decided the best road to success in the tractor business would be to buy out The Waterloo Company. The collaboration of John Deere with Waterloo led to the phasing out of the popular Waterloo Boy tractor models and the introduction of the John Deere tractor Model “D” in 1923.  John Deere continued to improve and refine their designs and they now reach a global market. John Froelich, the mostly forgotten small town dreamer from Iowa, would surely be gratified to see his visionary invention in use on farms around the world today.