Dad had a red Massey-Harris tractor for a long time, although we never thought about taking a photo of ours. I think Dad’s was a Model 44, and not as pristine as this one.
Whichever tractor did the cultivating, I remember my job once during lunch was to scrape off the cultivator sweeps or shovels, those diggers mounted onto the tractor.
Massey-Harris was started in Canada in 1891, merging the Massey and Harris manufacturing companies. In 1891, Massey merged with the A. Harris, Son & Co. Ltd. to become Massey-Harris Co. and became the largest agricultural equipment maker in the British Empire. In 1910, the company opened a factory in the United States, making it one of Canada’s first multinational firms.
In the 1930s, they introduced the first self-propelled combine harvester. Massey Harris also produced one of the world’s first four-wheel drive tractors.
From there, the history gets more complicated. You may read about it here. One interesting note: Raymond Massey, of the Massey manufacturing family, became a American film actor.
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Neat history of Massey-Harris. Do you know what happened to your Dad’s MH tractor? Thank you for the post and hope you’re doing well!
He eventually bought a JD with a cab. If he still had the Massey-Harris, it was part of the auction in 1980. (Thanks for well wishes. Looks like I’m headed for a root canal soon. bummer)
Our farmers have done wonders for this country since the dawn of the USA’s existence. You must be very proud of your family’s legacy.
Yes, very thankful! Thank you, GP.
👍👍
Forerunner of Massey Ferguson. I was surprised to learn that they also made military vehicles during WW II, including the M5 Stuart and the M24 Chaffee light tanks.
I learned that International Harvester and Frigidaire made weapons for P-38s!
I don’t know much about tractors, but that Massey-Harris tractor that is pictured is one handsome red tractor that needs some dirt on it! 🙂
Love it!
That last bit of info was something of a surprise for me.
Yes!
I grew up driving one. Most of our land was flat so the narrow front was ok…didn’t like hills though.
I sorta flunked tractor-driving because of a contoured hill and trying to follow old “checked” rows. But I was the only girl in my high school class to get out of school to help seed oats and grass seed!
I would have loved to take a ride on that!