History of the Tractor
Origins of agriculture’s icon
The tractor is an iconic symbol of agriculture, but that wasn’t always the case. The history of the tractor dates back to the late 1800s when steam-powered engines were used for farming, chiefly threshing. From there, tractors evolved into powerful machines that revolutionized the way farmers worked their land.
The first tractors were large, mostly stationary machines powered by steam engines that threatened to set fire to grain and stubble from a single errant spark. Barely mobile, they were used only for plowing fields.
It wasn’t until gasoline-powered engines became popular that tractors began to resemble what we know today. In 1892, John Froelich built a single-cylinder gasoline “traction engine” tractor that was able to pull multiple plows at once, making farming more efficient than ever before.
Other important innovators in the early days of tractor development included Charles Hart and Charles Parr who created the Hart-Parr Gasoline Engine Company. Their first model debuted in 1903 with a two-cylinder engine producing just twelve horsepower.
Doubling the cylinders to improve power was a useful forward advancement.
Despite these early improvements, it wasn’t until Henry Ford introduced his mass-produced Fordson tractor in the 1920s that tractors truly became commonplace on farms, both across America and around the world.
The first tractors were large, mostly stationary machines powered by steam engines that threatened to set fire to grain and stubble from a single errant spark. Barely mobile, they were used only for plowing fields.
It wasn’t until gasoline-powered engines became popular that tractors began to resemble what we know today. In 1892, John Froelich built a single-cylinder gasoline “traction engine” tractor that was able to pull multiple plows at once, making farming more efficient than ever before.
Other important innovators in the early days of tractor development included Charles Hart and Charles Parr who created the Hart-Parr Gasoline Engine Company. Their first model debuted in 1903 with a two-cylinder engine producing just twelve horsepower.
Doubling the cylinders to improve power was a useful forward advancement.
Despite these early improvements, it wasn’t until Henry Ford introduced his mass-produced Fordson tractor in the 1920s that tractors truly became commonplace on farms, both across America and around the world.
Importantly, progressive farmers could see that machinery might one day replace the horse or mule.
