Illinois Hall of Fame: John Deere

By Mark Rhoads

John Deere lived and worked for fifty years along the Rock River in Illinois. He founded what is today one of the largest agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers in the world.

Deere was born on Feb. 7, 1804 in Rutland, Vermont.  John was raised by his mother in Middlebury, Vermont where he got is basic education.  At the age of 21, he started his apprenticeship as a blacksmith in 1825.  He married Demarius Lamb in 1827 and the couple had four children by 1836.  Hard times and debt forced him to sell his blacksmith shop to his father-in-law in 1836 and he moved the family to Grand Detour, Illinois on the Rock River for new opportunities and because other Vermont neighbors had settled there previously.  Grand Detour is few miles northeast of Dixon, Illinois.

Illinos farmers in 1837 found iron plows sluggish and hard to work in Illinois soil.  Deere invented a superior self-polishing cast-steel plow that became very popular.  He had a hard time keeping up with demand for his products that were gaining a reputation for high quality among midwestern farmers.  He made hoes, shovels, pitch forks, plows, and other useful farm implements.  In 1848 he moved his factory to Moline, Illinois at the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Rock River because it was the best water and land transportation hub for his customers.  His factory sold 10,000 steel plows in 1855, a huge number for that era.  He moved to a new factory on the Mississippi River in 1859.  He believed in making every tool to the highest standards possible and vowed not to put his name on a tool "that does not have in it the best that is in me."  As he gradually delegated more business duties to his son Charles, Deere's reputation grew nationwide.  Shortly after the Civil War in 1868, he incorporated the plow business as Deere & Company.  He was engaged in civic and banking affairs and served as Mayor of Moline for two years.  John Deere died in Moline on May 16, 1886 at the age of 82.

In 2006, John Deere & Company is a global seller of farm and forestry equipment, consumer products, and power systems that employs 47,000 people worldwide.  Major product lines for farmers include tractors, combines, trucks, cultivators, back hoes, and various types of heavy earth-moving equipment.  In 2005, the Illinois-based company earned almost $1.5 billion in net income on total revenues of almost $22 billion. Students and adults may visit The John Deere Historic Site in Dixon which is open April through November. 

By Mark Rhoads

John Deere lived and worked for fifty years along the Rock River in Illinois. He founded what is today one of the largest agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers in the world.

Deere was born on Feb. 7, 1804 in Rutland, Vermont.  John was raised by his mother in Middlebury, Vermont where he got is basic education.  At the age of 21, he started his apprenticeship as a blacksmith in 1825.  He married Demarius Lamb in 1827 and the couple had four children by 1836.  Hard times and debt forced him to sell his blacksmith shop to his father-in-law in 1836 and he moved the family to Grand Detour, Illinois on the Rock River for new opportunities and because other Vermont neighbors had settled there previously.  Grand Detour is few miles northeast of Dixon, Illinois.

Illinos farmers in 1837 found iron plows sluggish and hard to work in Illinois soil.  Deere invented a superior self-polishing cast-steel plow that became very popular.  He had a hard time keeping up with demand for his products that were gaining a reputation for high quality among midwestern farmers.  He made hoes, shovels, pitch forks, plows, and other useful farm implements.  In 1848 he moved his factory to Moline, Illinois at the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Rock River because it was the best water and land transportation hub for his customers.  His factory sold 10,000 steel plows in 1855, a huge number for that era.  He moved to a new factory on the Mississippi River in 1859.  He believed in making every tool to the highest standards possible and vowed not to put his name on a tool "that does not have in it the best that is in me."  As he gradually delegated more business duties to his son Charles, Deere's reputation grew nationwide.  Shortly after the Civil War in 1868, he incorporated the plow business as Deere & Company.  He was engaged in civic and banking affairs and served as Mayor of Moline for two years.  John Deere died in Moline on May 16, 1886 at the age of 82.

In 2006, John Deere & Company is a global seller of farm and forestry equipment, consumer products, and power systems that employs 47,000 people worldwide.  Major product lines for farmers include tractors, combines, trucks, cultivators, back hoes, and various types of heavy earth-moving equipment.  In 2005, the Illinois-based company earned almost $1.5 billion in net income on total revenues of almost $22 billion. Students and adults may visit The John Deere Historic Site in Dixon which is open April through November.