Who Was John Deere: The Man Behind the Iconic Green Tractor?

Who Was John Deere: Most likely, if you’ve ever driven by a farm or seen one on television, you’ve seen the recognizable green tractors that have come to represent agriculture.

It’s simple to take these tractors for granted because they are now such a commonplace aspect of American society. Yet, have you ever wondered who was responsible for this ground-breaking invention?

How did John Deere forever alter the way that farming was done? We’ll explore John Deere’s remarkable life story and illustrious contributions to agriculture in this essay.

Who Was John Deere?

John Deere, born in 1804 in Rutland, Vermont, was a blacksmith who established Deere & Company in 1837. At the age of 17, John Deere began his blacksmith apprenticeship in 1821 and entered the trade in 1826. In 1827, he married Demarius Lamb, with whom he had nine children.

Because of the economic depression in Vermont, John Deere relocated to Illinois in 1836, where he discovered a greater need for blacksmithing.

At Grand Detour, Illinois, John Deere’s first blacksmith shop was only 1,378 square feet. The shop produced a range of popular tools created by blacksmiths at the time, such as shovels, pitchforks, and (of course) John Deere’s groundbreaking self-scouring steel plough.

Since it was revolutionary and allowed farmers to work their fields more effectively, demand for John Deere’s self-scouring steel plough surged quickly. Other modern ploughs were built of cast iron or wood and fared badly in the frequently damp Midwestern fields.

John Deere noticed that utilizing smooth steel from Scottish steel saw blades was considerably more efficient and did not get as readily caught in the mud.

John Deere moved his shop to Moline, Illinois, on the east bank of the Mississippi River to meet the rising demand for his plough. Because there were no vehicles or motorways, river transportation was the cheapest and most effective means to move commodities and raw materials in the 19th century. John Deere could buy raw materials and components faster and cheaply and send finished items to distant consumers from the riverbank site.

John Deere’s plough enabled 1800s western migration. The plough helped farmers produce more with less. Deere’s “Plow that Broke the Plains” sold over 10,000 ploughs by 1855.

John Deere was smart, driven, and moral. He made high-quality equipment and always took the high road in business. “I will never put my name on a product that does not have the best that is in me,” he added.

John Deere, like Henry Ford, knew that strategic inventory would boost sales. Blacksmiths often manufactured items “made-to-order” during John Deere’s time. Slow and inefficient. John Deere increased production and stocked crucial supplies so consumers could get their purchases.

In 1858 Deere took his son Charles into partnership and in 1863 his son-in-law, Stephen H. Velie. In 1868 the firm was incorporated as Deere & Company. Deere remained president of the company for the rest of his life. Gradually, Deere & Company began manufacturing cultivators and other agricultural implements.

John Deere formed Deere & Company in 1868 and registered the first trademark in 1876. John Deere and their buddy Melvin Gould created the initial logo with a deer leaping over a log. The logo has varied slightly but has always featured the John Deere deer and its name.

John Deere afterward concentrated on community leadership. He was Moline’s second mayor in 1873. He was president of the National Bank of Moline, director of the Moline Free Public Library, and trustee of the First Congregational Church.

82-year-old John Deere died at home in 1886. Moline’s Riverside Cemetery has his remains. Lot 838-840, Grave #11 marks his grave. “Our Father” is on his gravestone.

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