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Interesting Facts

July 28, 1848 - John Deere, Robert Tate, John Gould and six hired laborers "raised the rafters of the plough shop" in Moline, a 60'x24' plow factory along the Mississippi River. This was John Deere's first Moline factory.

January 1881 - Deere & Company put into operation the first electric light power plant in Rock Island County. Purchased from the Brush Electric Company of Chicago, 1 dynamo, 16 single lamps, 1 switch and 400 carbons were installed at a total cost of more than $3,000.

July 1, 1908 - Due to the continued growth of non-United States sales, the John Deere Export Company was created in Moline under the management of John Legler, with an additional office in New York.

August 21, 1979 - President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter visit the Deere & Company Administrative Center. CEO William Hewitt gives a speech about research into alternative energy to power John Deere machines, featuring the experimental biomass converter, which operates on chopped corn cobs. The Carters were also presented with a gift of a John Deere lawn and garden tractor, which was operated by the National Park Service on the grounds of the White House.

January 1989 - Deere introduced the largest number of new agricultural products ever announced at one time in its 151 year history, including an all-new generation of combines, updated row-crop tractors over 100 horsepower (including John Deere's first 200-hp model), a cotton picker with variable row-width flexibility; round balers, and a new series of disk harrows to expand the line of tillage tools.