A Brief History of the Tractor

While tractors may seem like a ubiquitous piece of farm equipment now, this wasn’t always the case. In fact, the machine we know as the tractor hasn’t even been around for 200 years yet! This history of the tractor will enlighten you about the work that went into your most-used piece of equipment.

Early Days

The first gas-powered tractor was created in Iowa by inventor John Froelich. Gasoline engines only became available in the 1880s, and Froelich took the idea to the farm to create a plowing machine that could make shorter work of daily farming tasks. He created a traction engine-powered machine that had forward and reverse gears and used it to harvest wheat.

Two University of Wisconsin students, Charles Hart and Charles Parr, were concurrently working on gas engines of their own, and they created the term “tractor” from the phrase “traction engine.” The first commercial tractor rolled off their Hart-Parr Gasoline Engine Company assembly lines in 1901.

Innovations

Of course, most people know other brands of tractors these days, including John Deere and Mahindra. Tractors became part of the John Deere line-up in 1923, while Indian manufacturing giant Mahindra began to produce them after World War II. The tractor’s parts and engine were further refined over the 20th century to produce the streamlined and efficient machines we know today.

Visit us at one of our dealership locations in Windsor and Aylesford, Nova Scotia, and Salisbury, New Brunswick, to check out our fine stock of new and used tractors for sale. Nova International is your Atlantic Canada tractor dealer, serving the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.