162
—Supplement to Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 28,1984
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■r and twine baler, manufactured in 1881, was this machine only minor developments, tending to give greater durability
the first binder which tied the bundles with twine. After the development of and lighter draft, were added.
Global
Significance
As much as any other single,
factor in American History, the
invention of the reaper by Cyrus
Hall McCormick in 1830 brought
the United States from an almost
purely agrarian nation to the
forefront as the world’s greatest
industrial power. Until the in
vention of the reaper, advances in
farming methods were so slow as
to be almost imperceptible. The
farmer was completely at the
mercy of the soil and the elements
prior to the invention of the reaper.
If circumstances caused him to fail
to produce, he was confronted with
the likely possibility of famine, as
time via the earlier primitive tools
would not permit him to harvest
another crop that year.
Development of Farm
Machinery After The
Invention Of The Reaper
The introduction of the reaper
ushered in an extraordinarily
productive era of invention in all
lines of farm equipment.
Stimulated by the impressive
success of McCormick’s machine,
other inventors attacked the
problems of the farmer with equal
vigor. During the period between
1830 and 1850, every phase of
agriculture underwent rapid
development. The steel plow,
which made it possible for the first
tune to turn the rich, sticky soil of
the prairies, was introduced to
replace the inefficient wood and
cast iron implements that had been
used for centuries. In 1834, the first
threshing machine appeared,
doing away with the laborious
custom of flailing gram from chaff.
Hand sowing of seed started to
become obsolete when the grain
drill, which permitted rapid, ac
curate planting, was invented.
Harrows and cultivators in vastly
improved form were develbped-to
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The revolution the world welcomed
be eagerly accepted by the
pioneers who were opening the
American West.
By 1946 the acceptance of the
reaper in the great farming areas
of the Middle West was complete
enough to justify the building of a
factory to manufacture reapers in
quamty. Cyrus Hall McCormick
moved his business to Chicago, the
logical shipping center of the new
grain territory. His first factory
was established on the north bank
of the Chicago River near Lake
Michigan, becoming one of the
first of Chicago's pioneer in
dustries. As his original contracts
with outside manufacturers ex
pired. McCormick refused to
renew them, preferring, once he
had the facilities, to have all his
machines built under his personal
supervision.
During this period, while Mc-
Cormick was concentrating on the
production of his reaper, he was
also developing methods of selling,
advertising, and distributing it.
Upon the expiration of his original
patents, which in spite of litigation
were not renewed, he met a sudden
increase in competition simply by
outselling his rivals and sending
his agents throughout the United
States to convince farmers in even
the more remote sections of the
merits of his reaper.
The interests of the farmer were
always uppermost in McCormick’s
mind. Leaving the manufacturing
details of his business in the hands
of his brothers, he spent most of his
time designing and testing im
provements on his machine and
during the harvest season,
studying the reaper in operation.
Trips to the harvest areas each
year enabled him to keep in close
touch with the problems of the
farmer and to leam his views on
possible improvements. The most
popular method of advertising and
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selling in those days was to stage
contests with competing
manufacturers before the farmers
themselves. McCormick super
vised many of these field trials
himself, keeping a watchful eye for
weaknesses in the performance of
his reaper. Because of his in
sistence upon the highest possible
standards of quality and work
manship, McCormick’s machines
usually came out ahead in such
contests. He had, however, the
courage and integrity to recognize
flaws in his machines and never
hesitated to accept advice he
considered sound.
The advent of the Civil War lent
tremendous impetus to the
development and production of
farm machinery by draining more
than a million men from the farms
of the Middle West and placing an
increased demand upon the far
mers who remained to produce
more food. Largely because of the
reaper, the Union was able not only
to feed a huge civilian and army
population but also to ship large
quantities of food to Europe.
Without McCormick’s invention,
according to a contemporary
estimate, half the crops would
have been left, standing in the
fields for lack of labor to harvest
them. Lincoln’s secretary of war,
Edwin M. Stanton, recognized the
Union’s debt to the reaper m an
address in 1861. ‘Without Mc-
Cormick’s invention,’ he said. ‘I
fear the North could not win, and
the Union would be dismembered.’
The impressive war record of the
reaper served to convince even the
most hesitant farmers of the ad
vantages of farm machinery.
Their reluctance to change to new
ideas vanished when they saw a
possibility of losing nearly all
their crops through a lack of hand
labor to harvest them. Final,
universal acceptance of
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mechanical farming was an end
result of war.
Formation Of The
International Harvester
Company
During the latter part of the
mneteeth century, the farm
equipment industry, influenced by
the rapid expansion of agriculture
for which it was so largely
responsible, grew into one of the
most highly competitive
businesses in America.
The two leading manufacturers
of harvesting machinery at the
turn of the century were Mc-
Cormick’s organization and the
Deering Harvester Company, also
located in Chicago. This company
had been founded in 1869 by
William Deering, another pioneer
in the development and perfection
of agricultural implements. In
1902, the two companies combined
with three smaller concerns-the
Milwaukee Harvester Company;
Warder Bushnell and Glessner
Company; and the Plano
Manufacturing Company to form
the International Harvester
Company. The prime reason
behind the organization of the new
Company were to develop new
products, to bring about a more
diversified line, and to give more
attention to the foreign market.
Cyrus H. McCormick, son of the
man who had perfected the reaper
and head of the McCormick
Harvesting Machine Company at
that time, became the first
president of the International
Harvester Company the day after
its formation.
The effect of the merger upon
foreign trade became apparent
almost immediately. Spurred on
by new capital, new resources, and
a larger organization, the Com
pany’s foreign business doubled
within five years, and withing ten
had increase fivefold with the
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extension of trade, particularly
effective in Great Britian, Western
and Central Europe, Russia, South
America, and Australia. By 1909,
factories had been established in
several European countries, and
sales outlets had been set up in
most of the civilized countries of
the world. The International
Harvester Company’s worldwide
character had become firmly
established.
Ever sensitive to the needs of the
farmer, the directors of the new
corporation made plans to in
corporate into the International
Harvester line implements that
would serve every purpose of the
farm-many of which had not even
been dreamed of a few years
before. It was felt too, that a more
diversified line of products would
remove the seasonal character
from the harvesting machine
business and provide employment
on a year-round basis to the
thousands of International Har
vester factory employers and
dealers. The addition of new
products would require production
at a plant during the periods it was
not ordinarily manufacturing
harvesting equipment.
The first step in the development
of a complete line was the
acquisition of the D.M. Osborne
Company at Auburn New York,
which manufactured a line of
harvesting and tillage implements
designed to meet the eastern trade.
Because of its location near the
eastern seaboard the addition of
that plant was also in line with the
Company’s desire to expand its
foreign trade. In 1904, the purchase
of the Keystone company, at Rock
Falls, Illinois, added an historic
line of tillage and having tools.
This factory, subsequently sold,
became known as Rock Falls
Works. About this time the Weber
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