JOHN DEERE AND COMPANY
John Deere came to Moline in 1847. He was a mechanic and plow maker, who came from the East to Grand Detour, Ill., in 1837. He conceived the idea that an improvement could he made on the cast-iron plow, then in use, which had been introduced by Charles Newbold of Burlington, N. J., about 1797, when he cast the share, landside and point in one piece, and which had been improved by Jethrow Wood of Scipio, N. Y., in 1819, by casting the plow in sections so that worn out parts could be replaced quickly and cheaply. From that time until 1837 the cast-iron plow, as then, made, remained supreme, but it would not "scour" in these western prairie and valley soils, and the greater development of farming depended on the invention of a "self- cleaning" plow. Mr, Deere determined to solve this problem. His idea was that the result could be obtained by making the moldboard of the plow of steel, but where to get the steel suitable for the purpose was the question. Finally he cut a piece from a worn-out steel saw blade from the Sears sawmill, and shaping it over a log, made the first steel moldboard ever produced. This was placed on a plow and taken to the field to be "tried out." It was a success from the start, could not be caused to clog, and the longer it was used the brighter it became, and the easier could the plow be pulled. The day of the plowman's cleaning paddle had come to its waning, but it required time, demonstration and perseverance to make the farmer believe it. The first year but two plows were made, and in 1839 the output was but ten plows. In 1846 it was impossible to produce enough plows to meet the demand, owing to lack of a sufficient supply of proper steel. In this year (1846) Mr. Deere went to England to have special rolls made with which to produce the kind of steel needed, and the first slab of this steel ever produced in the Tnited States, was made by William Woods, a mechanic in the employ of Jones & Quiggs of Pittsburgh, Pa., with whom Mr. Deere had contracted for his supply of steel. From the primitive bent sharpened stick of ancient Egypt to the modern steel plow of today is a long story of hardship and the overcoming of obstacles and in that long road no greater step was taken by any man than that made by John Deere when he made the first steel mold- board from an old saw blade. Mr. Deere moved his industry from Grand Detour to Moline in 1847 and it was housed in a three-story frame building, containing less than 3,000 square feet of floor space, while the present quarters cover a combined space greater than the area of a fair-sized farm and the Deere industries give employment to thousands of people here, while in the aggregate, here and elsewhere, they employ 10,000 people. The city of' Moline derives its well known soubriquet of the " Plow City " from the Deere plow. The quantity of material used by this great institution in a year and the number of implements turned out in the same time, is as follows: 450,000 complete implements, three per minute; 1,000,000 extra shares for plows in use; 50,000 tons of iron and steel; 300 tons of corundum (for grinding) ; 2,500,000 gallons of fuel oil; 35,000 tons of coal and coke; 200 tons of emery (for grinding) ; 1,000 tons of oil and paint; 7,000,000 board feet of hardwood lumber and 1,500,000 square feet floor space, 35 acres. The area covered by building and yards, the amount of floor space used, the number of people employed, the amount of raw material used and the total output are being increased every year. Early in its history the late John M. Gould became associated with the company, and in 1847 was made manager of the sales department, Mr. Deere having charge of the manufacturing operations. Mr. Gould remained with the business until 1852, when he retired. In 1868 the business was incorporated as Deere and company, with John Deere as president, his son, C. H. Deere, vice-president and general manager, and S. H. Velie, Sr., secretary. While the father was the mechanical genius of the business, the son proved a most efficient organizer and soon greatly extended the territory covered by the Deere products, by the establishing of branch houses and agencies in new fields, laying solid foundations for the present business, which enable the company to sell more plows than any other factory in the world, and it was not long until the company was making and selling as large a line of agricultural imple ments as any house in the business. They began by marketing the products of other houses in this line, and finally affiliating and then acquiring these factories as integral parts of the Deere industries. This reorganization took place in 1911, when twenty-two affiliated concerns were brought into the parent company, these being situated in various parts of the United States and Canada. The capital stock was increased to $50,000,000, and later to $65,000,000, to provide for needed future extensions. Since this reorganization took place in 1911 one more concern has been brought into the fold. John Deere and his son, C. H. Deere, have both passed to the beyond, but the great business which they founded and organized continues to grow. William Butterworth, who for years has been the directing genius of the Deere interests, was elected president of the new Deere corporation, and W. L. Velie was chosen vice president and chairman of the executive committee. Other vice presidents are: Charles Webber, George N. Peek, George W. Mister, and Burton F. Peek. Schiller Hosford, who was elected secretary, died last year. His successor is T. F. Wharton. George W. Crampton was elected treasurer and continues in that capacity. The new corporation thus remains under control of the men who have directed Deere policies for the last generation. Of the seventeen members of the board of di rectors, the average age is forty-nine years, and the average length of service of these men with Deere and Company is twenty four years. This is one of the greatest implement organizations in the world. The output of all these plants is marketed in local territory by the John Deere Plow Company of Moline as a sales organization. Following is the history of the local plants which have become members of the Deere family of factories The Moline Wagon company, now the John Deere Wagon Company. This business started in a small shed in the eastern part of Moline, where for fifteen years James First operated a wagon and repair shop. It was established in 1854 by the late Morris Rosenfield, continued after his death with his son, Walter Eosenfield, at its head. Its growth is the result of the life work of these two men. In 1865 new capital was taken in and in 1872 it was incorporated as the Moline Wagon Company with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars. In 1894 the capital stock was in creased to $600,000 and in 1907 to $1,000,000. When it became a part of Deere and Company in 1911 the assets had grown to over $2,000,000. The plant was years ago moved to new quarters. The buildings are of brick, five stories high, two blocks long, four hundred and fifty feet deep, and cover five acres of ground, besides which there are ten acres in lumber yards and large dry sheds. Four hundred skilled mechanics are employed, whose health and safety are safeguarded by the most modern sanitary and safety appliances. Several hundred styles of wagons are made, from which one may select vehicles suited to any territory, climate, temperature or condition of roads or lack of roads. This is the largest factory in the world devoted exclusively to the manufacture of farm wagons and its product is sold in every state of the union and many foreign countries.
Plow fitters at John Deere
First Deere and Company
Pictures Courtesy of Lilly Setterdahl Text from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois
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