where was the first john deere tractor made
List of John Deere tractors The Dain All-Wheel Drive was the first tractor produced by John Deere. In 1911, Deere purchased the Dain Manufacturing Company of Ottumwa, Iowa. The next year, Deere decided to design its own tractor, and Dain founder Joseph Dain Sr., was directed to design that tractor. After several prototypes, the design was finalized in 1917, and 100 production units were ordered. By 1919 when that production run was complete, Deere had purchased the Waterloo Boy company. Although the Dain AWD was ahead of its time, with features such as a shift-on-the-fly transmission, Deere halted production in late 1919, partly because the cost of the Dain tractor was double that of the Waterloo Boy, and partly because of the death of Dain Sr.