Below: Deere & Company Headquarters, 1919
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Established in 1837 in Grand Detour, Illinois, John Deere moved his plow factory to the Moline riverfront in 1848. Operating under the name Deere, Tate & Gould until 1852, and under a series of other names through the 1850s, Deere & Company was incorporated in 1868. By that time a manufacturer of steel plows, seed drills and related implements, the company had quickly grown into the largest steel plow manufacturer in the world. In 1881, Deere & Company's Plow Works became the first factory in the Tri-Cities to intall electric lighting. At a cost of $3,000, the company installed 18 electric lights, each light having the capacity of 2,000 candles according to reports. To celebrate, a large lamp was placed on the roof of the Plow Works which, according to the newspaper "shed the radiance of noonday on all objects wihin reasonable distance." (Review Dispatch, February 10, 1881.)
From 1910-1912, Deere & Company acquired and consolidated more than a dozen companies under the John Deere name, including plow factories, wagon makers, carriage makers, a haying equipment manufacturer and others. In 1918, Deere purchased the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company, marking its entry into the tractor business.
Growing from a one building factory into a sprawling facility along the banks of the Mississippi River, Deere & Company's headquarters remained on Third Avenue until 1964, a period of 117 years. Today, Deere & Company's WorldWide Headquarters remain in Moline.
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