Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer's Tractors

1915 Big Four 30-60 Tractor

This tractor (serial #1560) was made by the Emerson-Brantingham Company at its Big Four Tractor Works in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Emerson-Brantingham, based in Rockford, Illinois, had acquired the Big Four plant from the Gas Engine Company in 1912. Stuhr Museum's Big Four tractor was reportedly owned by E. R. Brien and used by him and John Brien for threshing grain, filling silos, shelling corn, and moving houses near Athol, Kansas, about 100 miles south-southwest of Grand Island.
First built in 1906 by what was called the Transit Thresher Company, the Big Four tractor was originally developed by one of the early pioneers of tractor engineering, D. M. Hartsough. One of the earliest 4-cylinder tractors on the market, the Big Four quickly became a big success. In 1908, Hartsough and Patrick Lyons, the financier of the company, decided to change the company's name to the Gas Traction Company because they felt it had a wider appeal. Building on its early success, the company even began manufacturing the Big Four in a second factory in Winnipeg around 1910, producing the tractors for the burgeoning Canadian market.
In 1912, however, Lyons and Hartsough decided to sell the company to Emerson-Brantingham. After the sale, Lyons and Hartsough would found the Bull Tractor Company, manufacturer of the Bull tractor found here in Stuhr Museum's exhibit. Lyons would also found the Toro Motor Company to build engines for the Bull tractors. Emerson-Brantingham, the maker of another tractor as well as a thresher here at Stuhr Museum, closed the Winnipeg plant after acquiring the Gas Traction Company but continued production of the Big Four tractor until about 1920. In 1928, Emerson-Brantingham was acquired by the J. I. Case Company.
You can see an original 1910 bill of sale for a Big Four tractor, as well as other information on Big Four tractors, on the Manitoba Agricultural Museum's website.

c. 1925 Gray "Canadian Special" 22-40 Tractor

This tractor (serial #9036) was manufactured by the Gray Tractor Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. With its unique rear drum wheel and large hood, this tractor's design tends to get people's attentions. Stuhr Museum's Gray tractor reportedly cost $2,525 and was used to power a well near Sutton, Nebraska, a town in Clay County.
With its roots in a farm tractor developed by W. Chandler Knapp of New York, the Gray Tractor Manufacturing Company was created in Minneapolis in 1914 to produce the first Gray tractors. In 1917, the company reorganized and became simply the Gray Tractor Company. In 1925, the company reorganized again and focused its production on the Canadian Special, which it made from 1925 to 1933.

The Tractor Field Review (Chicago:
Farm Implement News, 1919), p. 50.

1913 Rumely Type E 30-60 Tractor

This large tractor (serial #1719) was made by the M. Rumely Company in La Porte, Indiana. Weighing about 26,300 pounds, it was built with a 2-cylinder engine with a 10" x 12" bore and stroke, and was rated at 375 RPM. The M. Rumely Company and its successor, the Advance-Rumely Thresher Company, made 8,224 Type E tractors from 1910 to 1913 and from 1915 to 1923.
The Type E's Nebraska Tractor Test was #8, performed from April 23rd to May 11th, 1920. You can view a pdf of the original test results by clicking or touching here. If you would like to see a video of a Rumely Type E in action, click or touch here.

The M. Rumely Company, the predecessor to the Advance-Rumely Thresher Company, maker of five tractors and a steam engine in Stuhr Museum’s exhibit, had a long history before it built Stuhr Museum's Type E tractor. Like its successor, the M. Rumely Company's history can be traced back to 1848 and the migration of Meinrad Rumely from Germany to the United States. In that year, at the age of 25, Meinrad moved to Canton, Ohio, where his older brother, Jacob, lived. In 1850, he moved to nearby Massillon, Ohio, to join his brother, John, who was working for Russell & Company. Not long after moving to Massillon, Meinrad left for La Porte, Indiana, where he became a blacksmith in 1852. After his brother, John, joined him in La Porte, the two brothers created M. & J. Rumely Company. They made their first thresher by 1857 and their first steam stationary engine in 1861. Their products found a ready market.

In 1882, after adding portable and traction steam engines to their product lines, Meinrad bought out John’s portion of the company and renamed it M. Rumely Company. Meinrad’s company continued to grow during the last two decades of the 19th century, producing thousands of steam traction engines and other products. When Meinrad died on March 31, 1904, his two sons, William and Joseph, became the leaders of the company. Edward Rumely, Joseph’s son, also joined the company. By 1907, Edward took a leading role, guiding the company to even more products, especially to the development of a tractor that ran on a fuel other than steam. In 1907, he got in touch with John Secor, an engineer who had been experimenting with low-grade distillate fuels in internal-combustion engines. Meinrad had been familiar with Secor’s work in the 1880s, and Meinrad’s son, William, discussed Secor’s work with Edward as they talked about the work of Rudolf Diesel.

When Edward Rumely and John Secor discussed development of a tractor with an internal-combustion engine, Secor decided to join the company. When Secor joined Rumely so too did Secor’s nephew, William Higgins. Higgins, an inventor himself, had been working on a kerosene carburetor, patenting his invention with the help of his uncle. For a reported $213,000 in stock, Rumely obtained these two inventive minds and their patents. With the addition of Secor and Higgins, the company began working on what would become the famous OilPull series of tractors. After testing the first two-cylinder kerosene-fueled engines in 1909, the M. Rumely Company began production of their first OilPulls in 1910. Although the shop crew referred to the tractor as Kerosene Annie, Edward Rumely and his secretary came up with the name OilPull. On February 21, the La Porte factory finished the first OilPull, a Type B 25-45, weighing about 24,000 pounds. Before the end of the year, the factory had completed its first 100 OilPulls.

Building on the company’s continued success, Edward decided to expand through acquisition. In October 1911, Rumely bought the Advance Thresher Company of Battle Creek, Michigan. At about the same time, Rumely also purchased the Gaar-Scott Company of Richmond, Indiana, the maker of the oldest steam engine tractor in Stuhr Museum’s exhibit. Both Advance and Gaar-Scott had long histories, developing steam engine tractors and other products for the agriculture market. In 1912, Rumely added Northwest Thresher Company, including Northwest’s 24-40 gasoline tractor. Rumely continued making the Northwest tractor as a 15-30, calling it the Gas Pull, until 1915.

Despite its recent acquisitions and its success with the new OilPull, the M. Rumely Company saw a drop in sales in 1913. After 2,656 OilPull sales in 1912, the company only had 858 OilPull sales in 1913, including Stuhr’s Type E 30-60. Having already borrowed money to acquire other firms, the company was in trouble. On January 1, 1914, Edward Rumely resigned from the company. At the end of 1914, the company had sold only 357 OilPulls. In January 1915, the M. Rumely Company filed bankruptcy and was appointed Finley Mount as its receiver. An Indianapolis lawyer, Mount trimmed off the company’s later acquisitions, leaving the company with the Rumely factory in La Porte and the Advance Thresher factory in Battle Creek. The company was renamed the Advance-Rumely Thresher Company and continued to do business without the Rumely family. Secor and Higgins continued as employees and made even more developments to their tractors.
It was at this time, during the late 1910s and early 1920s, that the company made Stuhr Museum’s Universal steam engine tractor, as well as its Types F, G, H, and K OilPull tractors. By 1924, with the popularity of smaller tractors increasing, Advance-Rumely needed to develop smaller tractors to compete with the Fordson and other tractor models. The company created the Types L, M, and R, and then Types W, X, and Z tractors, all smaller than their older brothers. By 1929, the company went even further, introducing the Do-All, an even smaller all-purpose tractor which is also represented in Stuhr’s exhibit. In 1930, Finley Mount and Edward Rumely, who had returned to the company after a failed stint in newspaper publishing, convinced Otto Falk, the head of Allis-Chalmers, to acquire Advance-Rumely. On June 1, 1931, Allis-Chalmers absorbed the company and became the fourth-largest farm equipment manufacturer in the U.S. After the acquisition, Advance-Rumely’s tractors came to an end as its factory inventories came to an end.

Notes

The history of Meinrad Rumely's company is from Randy Leffingwell, The American Farm Tractor (St. Paul, MN: MBI Publishing Company, 2002), pp. 67-71.

You can find a serial number list for Rumely tractors by clicking or touching here.

You can access Tractordata.com's page for the Rumely Type E by clicking or touching here.

1916 Avery 20-35 Tractor

This tractor (serial #4669) was made by the Avery Company in Peoria, Illinois. It was reportedly used near Wamego, Kansas, a town in Pottawatomie County, from the time it was originally purchased until 1952.
Although you may not be able to see it from the walkway, this Avery tractor has a carburetor built with a patent issued to Ashley C. Bennett. That patent is 927211, dated July 6, 1909. You can view the original patent as a pdf by clicking or touching here. Bennett, a prolific inventor, was issued patents for carburetors found not only on this Avery tractor but also on Stuhr's Rumely Do-All and Emerson tractors.
The Avery Company, the builder of this tractor, was founded by Robert H. and Cyrus M. Avery, both born and raised in Galesburg, Illinois. Robert, the older of the two brothers, enlisted to fight for the Union during the American Civil War. In 1862, he joined Company A of the 77th Illinois Infantry, eventually becoming a sergeant. During his first couple years, he served in the Army of the Mississippi, participating in the siege of Vicksburg as well as the fighting at Arkansas Post, Jacksonville, and Shreveport. In August, 1864, Robert was captured by Confederates and was held prisoner for about eight-and-a-half months in a variety of places, including about five-and-a-half months in Andersonville. While waiting in prison, Robert developed ideas for farm implements, including a cultivator, and possibly a stalk cutter and a corn planter. When he was released after the war, Robert eventually made his way back to Illinois where he joined with his brother, Cyrus, to start a company and to make his ideas a reality.

By the early 1870s, they had established R. H. & C. M. Avery in Galesburg. They found a large and ready market for their implements and, after about a decade in Galesburg, they found they needed to move to larger and better facilities. In 1882, the Avery brothers relocated their business to Peoria and had a new factory built next to the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad line. In 1883, they organized and renamed their venture the Avery Planter Company. During the next several years, the company continued to grow, employing about three hundred workers by 1890. Robert died in 1892, but Cyrus continued to lead the company into the twentieth century. In 1900, Cyrus reorganized the growing company as the Avery Manufacturing Company. After Cyrus’ death in 1905, J. B. Bartholomew took over the company, reorganizing it again as the Avery Company in 1907.
In 1912, the Avery Company plant covered about twenty-seven acres, including nearly six-and-a-half acres of floor space in the factory and warehouses. The company employed about 1,300 workers and made a wide variety of products, including steam traction engines (such as the one here in Stuhr Museum’s exhibit), gasoline tractors (this one and another one can be found in this exhibit), threshing machines, farm wagons, riding and walking cultivators, stalk cutters, corn planters (including one here in Stuhr's exhibit), and the “Self-Lift” gang plow (one can be found outside this building). The Avery Company sold their products across the United States, as well as to markets in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the Argentine Republic, Portugal, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Sweden, Egypt, China, the Philippines, and Cuba.

c. 1926 Fordson Model F Tractor

This tractor was made by the Ford Motor Company, probably in Dearborn, Michigan. Revealed in 1917, the Model F was initially manufactured by Henry Ford & Son, Inc., a firm established in 1910 by Henry and his son, Edsel. In 1920, the company was merged into the Ford Motor Company.
Not wanting potential buyers to confuse his tractors with ones made by a Ford tractor company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Henry decided to call the company's tractor the Fordson. The Fordson's initial price was $750, making the Fordson tractor very affordable to farmers on the North American prairie and causing Ford's competitor's in the tractor market to cut their own prices and rethink their product lines. Ford manufactured the Fordson in the U.S. until 1928, moving production first to Cork, Ireland, and then to Dagenham, Essex, England.
Stuhr Museum's Fordson tractor is displayed with a two-bottom plow.

1920 Emerson Model K 15-25 Tractor

This tractor (serial #26080) was made by the Emerson-Brantingham Company of Rockford, Illinois. Formed in 1909, Emerson-Brantingham quickly expanded through the acquisition of several other farm implement firms. In 1912, for example, Emerson-Brantingham acquired the Gas Traction Company, which made the Big Four tractor, and the Geiser Manufacturing Company, which made the Peerless line of threshing machines. In 1928, Emerson-Brantingham, in decline itself, was acquired by the J. I. Case Company.
This Emerson tractor has a Donaldson air cleaner produced by the Donaldson Company in St. Paul, Minnesota. This air cleaner has three patent dates. The first is December 3, 1918, corresponding to patent 1286250, a patent for an air cleaner issued to William Donaldson. You can view the original Donaldson patent as a pdf here. The second date is February 7, 1922, for which we have not yet found a corresponding patent. The third is April 24, 1917, corresponding to patent 1223662, a patent for a "carbureter" issued to Ashley C. Bennett. You can view the original Bennett patent as a pdf here.

c. 1929 Advance-Rumely Do-All Tractor

This Do-All Tractor was made sometime around 1929 by the Advance-Rumely Company in La Porte, Indiana. About 3,192 Do-All tractors were made between 1928 and 1931. This tractor was built with a 4 cylinder gasoline engine with a 3 1/2" x 4 1/2" bore and stroke. It has two forward speeds and one reverse speed, and it weighs about 3,702 pounds. It was reportedly the first row-crop tractor used around Henderson, Nebraska, a town in York County, about 35 miles east of Grand Island.

The Nebraska Tractor Test for the Do-All Tractor was #154, performed between October 29th and November 24th, 1928. The Do-All was rated at 16.3 HP at the drawbar and 21.6 HP on the belt. You can view a pdf of this test by clicking or touching here.

This Do-All tractor also has a list of patent numbers. Patent 1345498, published on July 6, 1920, can be seen as a pdf here. Patent 1415102, published on May 9, 1922, can be seen here. Patent 1418948, published on June 6, 1922, can be seen here. And patent 1521458, published on December 30, 1924, can be seen here. All of these patents were issued to Elmer B. McCartney, an inventor in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and assignor to the Toro Motor Company.

Although it is difficult to see from the walkway, this tractor has a small plaque which provides us details about its Waukesha motor. This motor (#190814) was manufactured by the Waukesha Motor Company in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and has a date of January, 1929. It is also stamped with a rating of 1200 RPM. The patent (#1421440) found on this motor plaque is for a suction intake for pumps. This patent was issued to James B. Fisher on July 4, 1922 and can be seen as a pdf by clicking or touching here.

This Do-All tractor also has a Donaldson air cleaner with three patents. The first patent, for an air cleaner, is 1513036, issued on October 28, 1924 to Frank A. Donaldson. You can view the original Donaldson patent as a pdf here. The second patent, for a "carbureter" is 1223662, issued on April 24, 1917 to Ashley C. Bennett. You can view this Bennett patent here. The third patent, an air cleaner for "carbureters" is 1334927, issued on March 23, 1920 to Ashley C. Bennett. You can view this patent as a pdf here.

The Advance-Rumely Company, the maker of six tractors and one steam engine in Stuhr Museum’s exhibit, had a long history before its incorporation in 1915. Its history can be traced back to Meinrad Rumely, a German immigrant to the United States in 1848. In that year, at the age of 25, Meinrad moved to Canton, Ohio, where his older brother, Jacob, lived. In 1850, he moved to nearby Massillon, Ohio, to join his brother, John, who was working for Russell & Company. Not long after moving to Massillon, Meinrad left for La Porte, Indiana, where he became a blacksmith in 1852. After his brother, John, joined him in La Porte, the two brothers created M. & J. Rumely Company. They made their first thresher by 1857 and their first steam stationary engine in 1861. Their products found a ready market.

It was at this time, during the late 1910s and early 1920s, that the company made Stuhr Museum’s Universal steam engine tractor, as well as its Types F, G, H, and K OilPull tractors. By 1924, with the popularity of smaller tractors increasing, Advance-Rumely needed to develop smaller tractors to compete with the Fordson and other tractor models. The company created the Types L, M, and R, and then Types W, X, and Z tractors, all smaller than their predecessors. By 1929, the company went even further, introducing the Do-All, an even smaller all-purpose tractor which is also represented in Stuhr’s exhibit. In 1930, Finley Mount and Edward Rumely, who had returned to the company after a failed stint in newspaper publishing, convinced Otto Falk, the head of Allis-Chalmers, to acquire Advance-Rumely. On June 1, 1931, Allis-Chalmers absorbed the company and became the fourth-largest farm equipment manufacturer in the U.S. After the acquisition, Advance-Rumely’s tractors came to an end as its factory inventories came to an end.

Notes

A good source for tractor specs is the Tractor Data website. For the Tractor Data web page on the Do-All, click or touch here.

1928 Allis-Chalmers Model E 20-35 Tractor

This tractor (chassis serial #15255) was built by the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company at its tractor factory in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. Allis-Chalmers made the Model E 20-35 from 1923 to 1930 as the rerated successor to the 18-30. The 18-30's Nebraska Tractor Test, which led to a rerating of 20-35, was #83, performed from September 15th to September 24th, 1921. You can view the test results as a pdf here. The 20-35 was in turn succeeded by the 25-40.
Of the 16,862 total Model Es (rated 15-30, 18-30, 20-35, and 25-40), 14,276 of them 20-35s. The 20-35's Nebraska Tractor Test, which led to a rerating of 25-40, was #151, performed from June 18th to June 26, 1928. You can view the test results as a pdf here. You can view the advertising brochure that accompanied the 20-35 in 1928 as a pdf here. Stuhr Museum's Allis-Chalmers tractor was reportedly used to pull a four-bottom gang plow on a farm near Sutton, Nebraska, in Clay County, about 50 miles southeast of Grand Island.

Notes

Data, specs, and other information on Allis-Chalmers tractors can be found in Terry Dean, Allis-Chalmers Farm Tractors and Crawlers Data Book (St. Paul, MN: Motorbooks International, 2000). Information on the 20-35 can be found on pages 15-18.

c. Late 1910s Aultman-Taylor 30-60 Tractor

This tractor (serial #2044) was made by the Aultman & Taylor Machinery Company in Mansfield, Ohio. The Aultman-Taylor 30-60's Nebraska Tractor Test was #30, performed from June 30th to July 20th, 1920. You can view this test as a pdf here. The tractor that was tested (serial #3455) performed at more than 58 HP at the drawbar and 80 HP on the belt wheel, well above the advertised horsepower.

Weighing about 24,450 pounds, Stuhr Museum's Aultman-Taylor was reportedly purchased in Chapman, Nebraska, a town in Merrick County, about we miles northeast of Grand Island. If you want to see a video of another Aultman-Taylor 30-60 in action, click or touch here. An incredibly detailed history of Aultman-Taylor's history is provided by Farm Collector on its website. You can access Part X of the history, which talks about the development of the company's steam engines and tractors, by clicking or touching here. On the first page you will find links to the first nine parts of this lengthy history written by Lorin E. Bixler and originally published in 1967.

From Tractor and Gas Engine Review,
vol. 15, no. 12 (December 1922).

1923 Eagle Model H 20-40 Tractor

This Eagle "Regular" Model H 20-40 tractor (serial #1200) was manufactured by the Eagle Manufacturing Company in Appleton, Wisconsin. Eagle produced the Model H from 1923 to 1929, making several adjustments to the tractor over those years. As a result of the changes, the Model H acquired different designations: Eagle built the "Regular" Model H from 1923 to 1925, the "Improved" from 1925 to 1928, and the "Special" in 1929. Stuhr Museum's Model H was reportedly purchased in Langham, Saskatchewan, Canada, a town northwest of Saskatoon.

A maker of ensilage and fodder cutters, feed grinders, cob crushers, gas engines, and many other products, the Eagle Manufacturing Company was one of the first commercially successful gas tractor companies in the U.S., building its first two-cylinder tractors in 1906.

From Tractor and Gas Engine
Review for Maker and User, vol. 14,
no. 2 (February 1921), p. 33.

1918 Titan 10-20 Tractor

This tractor (serial #TV22609) was made by International Harvester Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1915, IHC made seven 10-20 Titans. From 1916 to 1922, IHC's Milwaukee Works produced 78,363 10-20s, building one every 4 1/2 minutes at its peak of production. Stuhr Museum's Titan 10-20 was reportedly used to pull a two-bottom gang plow on a farm near North Platte, Nebraska, in Lincoln County, about 140 miles west of Grand Island.
The Titan 10-20's Nebraska Tractor Test was #23, performed from June 14th to June 19th, 1920. You can view the original results of this test as a pdf by clicking or touching here.

From Farm Implements,
vol. XXX, no. 7 (July 31, 1916).

The maker of this tractor, International Harvester Company, was formed when an agreement was made on August 12, 1902 between people representing five different firms that specialized in harvesting equipment. Those firms were the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company; the Deering Harvester Company; the Plano Harvester Company; the Warder, Bushnell & Glessner Company; and the Milwaukee Harvester Company. As you walk around Stuhr Museum's exhibit, you will see several other items made by International Harvester Company, including four other tractors.

1913 Avery 40-80 Tractor

This very large tractor (serial #1739) was made by the Avery Company in Peoria, Illinois. The 40-80 was made from 1913 to 1920. It weighs about 22,000 pounds, has a 4 cylinder engine with a 7 3/4" x 8" bore and stroke, and was rated at 500 RPM. The 40-80's Nebraska Tractor Test was #44, performed July 26-August 3, 1920, which can be viewed as a pdf here.
The maker of this tractor, the Avery Company, was founded by Robert H. and Cyrus M. Avery, both born and raised in Galesburg, Illinois. Robert, the older of the two brothers, enlisted to fight for the Union during the American Civil War. In 1862, he joined Company A of the 77th Illinois Infantry, eventually becoming a sergeant. During his first couple years, he served in the Army of the Mississippi, participating in the siege of Vicksburg as well as the fighting at Arkansas Post, Jacksonville, and Shreveport. In August, 1864, Robert was captured by Confederates and was held prisoner for about eight-and-a-half months in a variety of places, including about five-and-a-half months in Andersonville. While waiting in prison, Robert developed ideas for farm implements, including a cultivator, and possibly a stalk cutter and a corn planter. When he was released after the war, Robert eventually made his way back to Illinois where he joined with his brother, Cyrus, to start a company and to make his ideas a reality.

c. 1916-1923 Moline Universal Model C Tractor

This tractor (serial #6357) was made by the Moline Plow Company of Moline, Illinois. Wanting to expand their product lines, Moline purchased the Universal Tractor Company of Columbus, Ohio, in 1915. By 1916, Moline began making the Universal Model C, adding the Model D the following year. Moline produced both of these Universal Models until 1923.
The Universal's design was unique at the time it was made. Instead of pulling a plow, planter, or other implement by a hitch so that it trailed behind the tractor, the Universal pulled the implement behind its engine so that the farmer could sit in either a detachable tractor seat above the implement or in the implement's seat to steer. In the case of this Model C, the tractor has a two-gang plow attached to it, underneath a detachable seat.

As you walk around Stuhr Museum's exhibit, you will see several items made by the Moline Plow Company, including two Universal tractors, two Henney buggies, a riding disc cultivator, and what is probably a Moline walking tongueless cultivator.

1917 Moline Universal Model D 9-18 Tractor

This tractor (serial #10884) was made by the Moline Plow Company in Moline, Illinois. The Universal's design was unique at the time it was made. Instead of pulling a plow, planter, or other implement by a hitch so that it trailed behind the tractor, the Universal pulled the implement behind its engine so that the farmer could sit in either a detachable tractor seat above the implement or in the implement's seat to steer.

Although you may not be able to see it from the walkway, Stuhr Museum's Universal Model D has a mower attached, and the farmer would have sat in the mower's seat while steering the tractor.

The Model D's Nebraska Tractor Test was #33, performed from July 14th to July 17th, 1920. You can see the original results as a pdf by clicking or touching here.
As you walk around Stuhr Museum's exhibit, you will see several items made by the Moline Plow Company, including two Universal tractors, two Henney buggies, a riding disc cultivator, and what is probably a Moline walking tongueless cultivator.

From Tractor and Gas Engine Review,
vol. 11, no. 6 (June 1918).

1935 John Deere Model B Tractor

This tractor (serial #6808) was made by the John Deere Tractor Company in Waterloo, Iowa. From 1935 to 1952, Deere produced 111,340 Model Bs. The Model B's Nebraska Tractor Test was #232, started on November 15th, 1934, and finished, after the winter season, on April 19th, 1935. You can view the original test results as a pdf by clicking or touching here.

Stuhr Museum's Model B is displayed with a well-digging attachment connected to the rear. The three posts against the wall are also part of the well-digging equipment. Before inventive minds came up with other means to dig or drill wells for water, workers had to dig them by hand. Using spades, shovels, and other tools, well diggers slowly removed foot after foot of dirt and sand before reaching water that could be hauled up or pumped. The attachment on the tractor made it easier for the diggers to haul dirt up out of the well hole as they worked. They may have even used it to haul themselves up and down as the well hole got too deep to climb out. Wessels Living History Farm, located in York County, Nebraska, has more information on well-digging which you can access on their website here.

1935 John Deere Model A Tractor

This tractor (serial #419196) was made by the John Deere Tractor Company in Waterloo, Iowa. From 1934 to 1953, Deere built about 327,000 Model As. Stuhr Museum's Model A was reportedly used to pull a 3-bottom plow.
The Model A's Nebraska Tractor Test was #222, performed from April 19th to April 27th, 1934. You can view the original results of this test as a pdf by clicking or touching here.

1918 Case 20-40 Tractor

This tractor (serial #17890) was made by the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company of Racine, Wisconsin. Case manufactured the 20-40 from 1912 to the early 1920s, when the company replaced it with the 22-40 and, later, the 25-45. This particular Case 20-40 was reportedly used on a farm northeast of Yankton, South Dakota, about 165 miles north-northeast of Grand Island.
The Case 20-40's Nebraska Tractor Test was #7, performed from April 10th to May 7th, 1920. You can view this test as a pdf by clicking or touching here.
With humble beginnings, Jerome Increase Case began making threshing machines in the 1840s. In 1880, Case reorganized his company as the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company, a company that would be on the leading edge of not only the threshing machine market but also the tractor and other agricultural tool markets. In 1928, the company became the J. I. Case Company. By the early 1970s, Tenneco, a large corporation, had acquired a majority share of the company, and when Tenneco acquired a significant portion of International Harvester in 1984, the corporation merged the two companies together, creating Case International, later called Case IH. In 1999, Fiat acquired the company, which was called Case Corporation, and merged it with New Holland Agriculture to form CNH Global. Just a few miles north on Highway 281/34 is one of Case IH's plants, a plant where axial-flow combines as well as hay and forage equipment are made. You can view a timeline of Case IH's history on their website by clicking or touching here.

1930 McCormick-Deering Farmall Tractor

This tractor (serial #QC97964) was made by International Harvester Company in Chicago, Illinois. Called the "Regular" after other Farmall models were introduced in the early 1930s, IHC produced 134,442 Regular Farmalls from 1924 to 1932. This particular Farmall was reportedly used on the Charles Matzner Farm near Gresham, Nebraska, in York County, about 70 miles east of Grand Island.
The Regular Farmall's Nebraska Tractor Test was #117, performed from September 14th to September 19th, 1925. You can view this test as a pdf provided by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln by clicking or touching here.
The maker of this tractor, International Harvester Company, was formed when an agreement was made on August 12, 1902 between people representing five different firms that specialized in harvesting equipment. Those firms were the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company; the Deering Harvester Company; the Plano Harvester Company; the Warder, Bushnell & Glessner Company; and the Milwaukee Harvester Company. As you walk around Stuhr Museum's exhibit, you will see several other items made by International Harvester Company, including four other tractors.

If you look near the front of this Farmall, you might notice that it has a Vortox Manufacturing Company air cleaner. This air cleaner has two patents dates. The earlier date, July 18, 1922, corresponds to patent 1423412, a patent for an air cleaner issued to Herman H. Garner, which you can view as a pdf here. The later date, August 15, 1922, corresponds to patent 1426177, a patent for a wet filter air cleaner issued to Herman H. Garner, which you can view as a pdf here. Initially created in 1918 by Herman Garner as Pomona Air Cleaner in Pomona, California, the Vortox Manufacturing Company acquired the Vortox name in 1924. In 1928, the company moved to nearby Claremont. Today, Vortox Air Technology, Inc. traces its history back to Garner and his Pomona company. You can read their narrative history of the company on their website by clicking or touching here.

c. 1910s Flour City 30-50 Tractor

This tractor (serial #2079) was made by the Kinnard-Haines Company, later called Kinnard & Sons Manufacturing Company, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company was initially established by O. B. Kinnard and Albert Haines in 1889 as the Kinnard Press Company, a maker of hay presses and other items. By 1900, the company had built its first tractor. In 1901, the company became Kinnard-Haines, and tractor production expanded. The company would build 20-35, 30-50, and 40-70 tractor models, producing the 30-50 from 1911 to 1927. Kinnard-Haines took the name for their tractors – "Flour City" – from Minneapolis' own nickname, Minneapolis having been an important center for the flour milling industry.

From Thresherman's Review and Power Farming,
vol. XXII, no. 7 (July 1913), p. 22.

1916 Mogul 8-16 Tractor

This tractor (serial #SB9687) was made by International Harvester Company and sold through its McCormick dealers. From During its production run from 1914 to 1917, IHC manufactured 14,065 8-16 Moguls. With the demand for more horsepower from farmers, IHC replaced the 8-16 with the 10-20, made from 1917 to 1919. Compared to other tractor designs, the Mogul had a narrow front axle which allowed for more belt clearance and a shorter turning radius.

If you can see the right side of the front wheel, you might notice that the axle protrudes beyond the wheel. IHC included this extended axle on the Mogul so that a farmer could attach a plow guide. As you make your way around Stuhr's exhibit, you might see an IHC plow guide which has the same paint colors as this Mogul. Although we do not have documentary evidence, we might surmise that that plow guide may have been used with this tractor. The plow guide helped the farmer with steering, especially while pulling a gang plow.
The maker of this tractor, International Harvester Company, was formed when an agreement was made on August 12, 1902 between people representing five different firms that specialized in harvesting equipment. Those firms were the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company; the Deering Harvester Company; the Plano Harvester Company; the Warder, Bushnell & Glessner Company; and the Milwaukee Harvester Company. As you walk around Stuhr Museum's exhibit, you will see not only the plow guide discussed above but also two Titan tractors, a Farmall tractor, a McCormick-Deering tractor, and several other items made by International Harvester Company.