The Hart-Parr company started in 1897, in Madison, Wisconsin, as a Gas Engine builder. They then built a tractor in 1902 Thus becoming the first tractor builder (Engine Powered).
History
Hart Parr Gasoline Engine Company
Charles Walter Hart was born at Charles City, Iowa in 1872. At the age of twenty, he transferred from Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, to the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[1] It was here that he met Charles H. Parr, and the two young men quickly became friends. Together they worked on their Special Honours Thesis and from that thesis they built three working internal combustion engines right there on the campus at Madison. Following their graduation from the University of Wisconsin in 1897, Hart and Parr gathered $3000 in capital and formed the Hart-Parr Gasoline Engine Company. Towards the end of 1899, Charles Hart paid a visit to his parents in Charles City, Iowa. He complained to his father that development funds could not be found for his tractor project. "There's money around here that might be interested," replied the elder Hart, admitting for the first time that his son's ambition was not folly. They the found another investor in Charles D. Ellis, a local attorney, who invested $50,000 in additional capital.
In 1900, as the engine business expanded, Hart and Parr decided to move their company from Madison to Charles City. Hart-Parr Company was organized on June 12, 1901 at Charles City, Iowa. Ground was broken for the new factory on July 5 that year. By the following December, the Hart-Parr Company was now ready to do business, and had an authorized capitalization of $100,000.00.
Hart-Parr number 1 was completed in 1902. Customers did not immediately beat the proverbial path. However, Hart-Parr was able to field one salesman to run demonstrations at county fairs and other events. Hart was patient. "We can't force it," he said. "We have to let it simmer into the market."
Little by little, the Hart-Parrs began to gather defenders. Some of the first tractors delivered were gaining a reputation of usefulness that far surpassed that of the steamers.
W.H. Williams, Sales Manager in 1906, decided the words "traction engine" were vague and too long to be used in press releases, so he coined the word "Tractor" instead. For this reason, and because the Charles City plant was the first to be continuously and exclusively used for tractor production, Hart-Parr has been given the title of "Founders of the Tractor Industry".[citation (source) needed]
In 1929 they merged with other several firms to form Oliver, and the name disappeared.
Hart-Parr
The Hart-Parr Co. was founded
in 1897 at Madison, Wisconsin by Charles Hart and Charles Parr, who were
both engineering students at the University of Wisconsin. The two men had
built their first gas engine while still at university, and during the
next four years sales of their oil-cooled engines increased to the point
where they needed larger premises and additional capital. This led to the
company relocating to Charles City, Iowa, where work soon began on a
tractor design. The first tractor, the Hart-Parr No.1, was completed in
1902 - it had a two-cylinder oil-cooled engine and was rated at 17-30 hp.
The No.2 tractor, which appeared later that year, was a 22-45 model that
was completely different in appearance, mainly due to the addition of a
large cooling tower at the front of the tractor. This design was also used
in the No.3 18-30 model - an example of this is preserved in the
Smithsonian Institution Museum, Washington DC and has recently been
restored to full working order. In 1907, Hart-Parr introduced the famous
30-60 "Old Reliable", which remained in production until 1918. Heavier,
more-powerful tractors were also introduced around this time, but the
30-60 remained the most popular model and is a highly sought-after tractor
by preservationists today. A number of tricycle designs were subsequently
marketed, before Hart-Parr changed direction and decided to move towards
more lightweight tractor designs. Unfortunately their first attempt at
building a light tractor, the "Little Devil", was a complete failure and
the tractors had to be recalled for safety reasons. However, the right
direction was taken in 1918 with the "New Hart Parr" 12-25 model, which
formed the basis for all subsequent Hart-Parr tractors. The "New Hart
Parr" was a two-cylinder tractor with a water-cooled engine and open gears
used to drive the rear wheels. The model was soon uprated, and this design
later became the "30", 16-30, and 18-36 models with modifications at each
stage. A smaller model, the 10-20, was added to the range in 1921, and
this was soon joined by the big 22-40 in 1923, which featured two 20 hp
twin-cylinder engines side by side. The 1920s saw three models in the
Hart-Parr range, the 12-24, 18-36 and 28-50, but by the end of the decade
this design was starting to show its age. In 1929, the Hart-Parr company
merged with three other firms to form the Oliver Farm Equipment Co., and
soon afterwards the two-cylinder design was dropped in favour of four- and
six-cylinder engines. However, the new Oliver tractors continued to
feature the words "Hart-Parr" as part of their logo until the late 1930s.
The photos of Hart-Parr tractors have been split across several pages
to minimize download time. Click on one of the following to view photos of
particular tractors:
