John Deere
Born in 1804 Rutland Vermont, John Deere was raised by his mother after his father was lost at sea when Deere was just four years old. Apprenticed as a blacksmith at age 17, he quickly found acclaim for his workmanship due to his ingenuity in making plows.
Head West, Young Man
Following a collapse in the New England economy in 1836, Deere moved his blacksmithing business west to Grand Detour Illinois, where he quickly came to realize that plows made for East Coast soils performed badly in the sticky soils found on Midwestern prairies, obliging frustrated farmers to stop every few feet to scrape clods of earth from the cast iron surfaces of their plows.
Self-cleaning Plow
Convinced he could produce a self-scouring plow to fit the needs of midwestern prairie farmers, Deere produced his first plow using steel from a broken saw blade, prompting hundreds to converge on Lewis Crandall’s Grand Detour farm to witness the young blacksmith’s product, which proved to be a dazzling success. Moving 70 miles southwest to Moline Illinois in 1848, Deere and his partner Leonard Andrus set up their new business on the east bank of the Mississippi River, drawing water from the river to run his factory, employing riverboats to deliver raw materials for their production line, while moving finished plows and other farm equipment to markets throughout the midwest and beyond.
Exploding Demand
Soon producing 1,000 plows a year—1600 by 1850—Deere abandoned his source of raw steel from England when he signed contracts with Pittsburgh steel manufacturers to develop comparable steel plates, thereby eliminating supply chain interruptions due to overseas import delays. Incorporating under the name of Deere & Company in 1868, John Deere would go on to become a pillar of his community, serving as Moline’s second mayor beginning in 1873.
Welcome the Waterloo Boy
After his death in 1886, his surviving company went on to produce high-quality equipment that carries forth to this day. The company’s first tractor—the Waterloo Boy—made its first appearance on farms in 1918, while the company expanded its product lines over the coming years to include lawn tractors, heavy construction equipment, sports turf grooming equipment, logging machines as well as separately-sold engines and drivetrains.
Thriving Tribute to His Name
Today, thanks to the company’s strict adherence to John Deere’s insistence on producing quality equipment, Deere & Company enjoys a market capitalization of over $116 billion, making the life and work of John Deere, an important entrepreneur in 19th century America.