The Story of John Deere

Blacksmith, manufacturer, pioneer, statesmen, John Deere has built an amazing heritage. He founded a company in the 1860s that today is one of the leading manufacturers and distributors of construction, agricultural, and forestry equipment around the world.

John Deere was born in Rutland, Vermont, on February 7, 1804. After receiving his basic education he attended Middlebury College in Vermont, but dropped out to begin an apprenticeship with a local blacksmith. The experience gave Deere tremendous skills and he opened his own blacksmith shop four years later.

In the early 1830s, Deere moved to Grand Detour, Illinois. It was here he developed and sold the first commercially succesful cast-steel plow after observing the difficulty the current type of steel plow was having with the rough Illinois soil. Word grew quickly of the success of Deere’s new plow and by 1841 he was manufacturing and selling 100 plows annually. By 1855, Deere’s factory had produced and sold more than 10,000 plows.

The product mix expanded and sales continued to increase. Deere incorporated the business in 1868, but stepped down a few years later to let his son Charles handle the daily operations.

Now in his 70s, Deere turned his attention to civil and political aspirations. He had a brief stint as President of the National Bank of Moline in Moline, Illinois and served a two-year term as the Mayor of Moline. He chose not to run for a second term, however, due to illness. He passed away on May 17th, 1886.

Through his hard work and innovation, John Deere left a rich and endearing legacy. The company he built to help farmers till soil has grown into a global conglomerate with more than 52,000 employees and annual revenues of over $28 billion.