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| " A MORSEL OF GENUINE HISTORY IS A THING SO RARE AS TO BE ALWAYS VALUABLE"
THOMAS JEFFERSON
1817 |
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West Central Illinois
Without a lot of pronounced recognition, Western Illinois was home to some of the greatest farm inventions to ever hit the prairies. However, only
very few company's survived the harsh financial environment of the 1920's to continue operations into the present. Despite their demise, growers of yesterday and today, owe the proprietors of the factories in this region a lot of gratitude for their early offerings in the taming of the prairies.
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Parlin and Orendorff (P&O)
Plow Company - Robert Culton
actually is credited as the person who started this once
great company by developing the Diamond Plow. In
1840, he partnered with a blacksmith from Massachusetts,
who newly arrived to Canton looking for a fresh start in
the West, his name was William Parlin. Parlin was
born in Acton, Massachusetts, and came from a long line
of New England descendants reaching back to the
Massachusetts Bay colonists. He married Caroline
Orendorff on January 7, 1845 which proved to be the
impetus for a long and prosperous partnership with her
brother, William Orendorff.
William Parlin started various blacksmith
businesses and eventually began to manufacture plows in
1847. He later joined forces with his brother-in-law, W.
Orendorff, in the 1850s. Mr. Parlin was the inventor and
designer of the operation while Mr. Orendorff was the
business manager. By 1880 they had incorporated the P &
O Plow company in Illinois. Their sons, William H.
Parlin and Ulysses G. Orendorff, successfully continued
the business until it was eventually purchased by
International Harvester Company in 1919. |
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William Parlin |
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Brown Planter Works - In 1852, a little known farmer by the name of George Brown successfully developed the first horse-drawn corn planter. From this humble invention developed an empire of its day that could be rivaled by few. The Brown Planter Works went on to manufacture a large line of innovative corn planters and other implements well into the 20th Century. |
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Frost Manufacturing - |
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G.D. Colton and Company - |
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Pattee Plow Company -
In 1957, James H. Pattee
and his brother Henry moved from the East following
their sister and her new husband to a new land of
opportunity. By 1861, James founded a flour mill
and ran a prominant business until in the late 1860's he
started receiving patents for improvements in farm
implements. His signature invention was
founded in 1872, for which he received a patent.
The “New Departure Cultivator,” as it was called, was a
tongue-less cultivator that offered a new generation in
implements offering more agility in tillage operations,
and decreased weight in the implement.
Ithamar In 1875,
James, his brother, and brother-in-law Ithamar Pillsbury
founded the plow company, Pattee Bros. & Co. This
Company sold James’ patented cultivator among other
implements, and in only 5 short years the company was
flourishing. In 1881, the business was renamed the
Pattee Plow Company. |
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Weir Plow Company - The
Weir Plow Company was incorporated in 1869 by W.S. Weir.
The principle behind the development of his company was
a new and better plow for cultivating the heavy prairie
soil. |
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Pekin
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Acme Harvester Company - |
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Avery - This company was well-known for its steam tractors and stationary threshing machines. The companies inventor survived a stint in the Civil War to include a grueling term at the infamous Anderson Prison in Georgia to come back as a successful farm implement manufacturer. The company
actually began in Knoxville, Illinois with horse-drawn corn planters and evolved to other implements until eventually making entry into steam power. It was in this line of products that Avery gained its fame and fortune. |
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Peoria Drill and Seeder Company - |
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Peoria Steel Plow Company - |
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Selby, Starr, and Company - |
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