John Deere

John Deere

John Deere was the first man to invent the steel plow. John was born in Rutland, Vermont, to his father William Rinold and mother Sarah Yates Deere. In 1836 John left Vermont for Grand Detour Illinois, where he found ready employment in his new line of trade. At the age of 17 Deere was apprenticed to a blacksmith in Middleburn, Vermont. In 4 years he completed his apprenticeship and became a master craftsman.

John Deere is the first major inventor in the agriculture business. In 1839 he introduced his new steel plow with his new associate, Leonard Andrus, which exceeded 1,000 per year. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the firm cast the first plow steel in the United States. The name of the firm was Jones and Quigg. Deere then parted company with his partners and moved to Moline Illinois, which was better situated for market, transportation, and raw materials.

By the 1857’s Deere’s company had produced over 10,000 plows. Most of the plows were being carried by nearly every covered wagon that headed across the western prairie. John’s plows became known as the “singing plow” because of the distinctive humming sound it gave while it was sliding through the dirt. In 1858 Deere made his son Charles Deere his partner. In 1868 just a year after hiring his son as a partner the company was called Deere and Company.

John Deere tractor

In 1835 John decided to join the pioneers and move west. There out west he set up his blacksmith business and was able o make a good deal of money due to the high demand. He also began to notice that a large number of people were bringing in broken plows. The plows were traditionally made from case iron, and the soil in the Midwest was different from the sandy soil in the east and clung to the plows. So he came up with a brilliant plan to use highly polished steel and it would clean itself of soil while it was moving.

John Deere combine

John Deere was a great man in every way on what he accomplished in life. I live on a farm and we own 7 John Deere tractors and they have always worked every year. He was the first man to invent the new steel plow. He is my hero because I love his tractors and we are the same because we are both small town farm boys. John Deere is also my hero because he has done something that has changed agriculture for the future.