Hart-Parr introduced the first tractor in 1903. The 2015 Half Century of Progress Show provided a rare opportunity to see a Hart-Parr 60 tractor at work. Hart-Parr manufactured the 60 tractor in Charles City, Iowa from 1907-1918.
W.H. Williams, Sales Manager for Hart-Parr in 1906, decided the words “traction engine” were vague and too long to be used in press releases, so he coined the word “Tractor”, a combination of the words traction and power, instead. For this reason, and because the Hart-Parr Charles City plant was the first to be continuously and exclusively used for tractor production, Hart-Parr has been given the title of “Founders of the Tractor Industry.
Four companies joined forces on April 1, 1929 to for the Oliver Farm Equipment Company. The Oliver Chilled Plow Company dated from 1855. Hart-Parr Tractor Company began operations in 1897, and the American Seeding Machine Company, dated back to 1848. Nichols and Shepard Company, likewise began operations in 1848.