Joseph Dain owned Dain Manufacturing, producing “Dain” tractors, hay handling equipment, and other farming equipment. Dain’s company was originally founded in Missouri, but eventually moved to Ottumwa, Iowa in 1909. Dain Manufacturing Limited was bought out by John Deere in 1911. Dain was the first to produce a tractor that was All Wheel Drive. This was a huge progressive step for farmers and is still used today. Only 100 Dain tractors were produced starting in 1918, while John Deere had been working on prototypes since 1912.
Not long after, John Deere put a halt to the production of Dain tractors for a different, cheaper version called the Waterloo Boy. These tractors were produced until 1924. In 1923, John Deere’s Model D tractor was being mass produced, making the Waterloo Boy model obsolete.
Joseph Dain was a true driving force behind the production and design of tractors. When Dain died, people started to question whether John Deere as a company would survive. They made it through their hardships by producing at least 100 of the All Wheel Drive tractors that Dain has designed. The other big event that saved John Deere was World War I. Deere began producing war equipment instead of farming equipment in 1917.
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