Barbed wire’s history entangled in war
Probably the first patent for a form of barbed wire was issued to Leonce Grassin-Baledans in 1860 in France during World War I.
A thing of the past: Check row planters
Learn more about planting corn in checkrows.
The Neys have it: Hay tools invented in Canton
There were two different Ney companies in Canton in the late 1800s and early 1900s, both making hay tools such as barn hay forks, carriers and track.
Debate: Who really invented the steel plow?
Although Deere history gives credit for the steel plow to Deere, Case, who later owned Andrus' plow company, cites Leonard Andrus and never mentions Deere.
Looking back on how it all got started
Sam Moore pens his last column, looking back on the very first Rusty Iron column he ever wrote in 1992.
Gibson tractors were important for a while
In 1933, Harry Gibson started the Gibson Manufacturing Co. in Seattle, Washington, as a heavy machine shop.
The Whippet: More than just an old automobile
Folks often ask how I think of stuff to write about, and while I sometimes really have to scratch to come up with a subject, especially when a deadline is breathing down my neck, things I see in my travels often trigger a memory that leads to an idea for a story.
The first real automatic transmission
A brief history of the automatic transmission.
Where exactly did the word ‘tractor’ come from?
In his comprehensive book about building Hart-Parr and Oliver tractors at Charles City, Iowa, John D. Culbertson wrote the following under the heading "1906":...
Early 1900s: When the Navy ran a dairy farm
Did you know that for about 80 years, the United States Navy was in the dairy farm business, and for several decades even operated a hog farm?
