Posted by Paul Stanley on March 16, 1998 at 22:30:29:
Some folks have been wanting this list from an earlier message;
It goes as fallows.
1855; James Oliver buys a foundry in South Bend, Indiana and founds the
South Bend Iron works,
1892; Charle Hart transfers to the University of Wisconsin and meets Charles
Parr,
1897; The first Hart-Parr Company is incorporated in Madison, Wisconsin,
1901; The Har-Parr Tractor Co. opens in Charles City, Iowa,
1902; The first advertisement for Hart-Parr appears in The American
Thresherman and the first Hart-Parr tractor is delivered to the first buyer,
David Jennings, after a little mishap with a bridge,
1903; Hart-Parr produces 15 gasoline tractors,
1904; The kerosene motor is perfected and patented by Charles Parr,
1910; Hart designs a railroad to serve his plant.(The Charles City and
Western Railroad),
1918; Hart-Par develops its lightweight tractor line by introducing the
Hart-Parr 30,
1929; The Oliver Chilled Plow Works acquires the Hart-Parr Company, and the
Oliver Farm Equipment Co. is formed,
1935; Oliver introduce the 70 Row Crop. Operations are affected by a 25-day
strike at one of the plants,
1937; Oliver sales increase by 39% over previous year due to popularity of
the Oliver 70 row crop (prettiest tractor ever built),
1938; Oliver Corp. is out of debt for the first time since 1929,
1940; Oliver 60 and line of implements comes onto the market,
1941; The company builds bomb crates as well as shells, signal guns, and
tank transmissions for the war effort,
1944; The Clevland Tractor Co. is acquired. (Cletrac),
1945; War contracts cnaceled. The HGR Cletrac is introduced,
1947; Model 88 is introduced with the 70-styled sheet metal,
1948; Models 66,77, and 88 replace the oler tractor lines,
1952; Oliver acquires the Farquhar Col a builder of farm implements,
1952; Korean war has Oliver in the defense business again,
1953; Oliver buys the Be-Ge Co. of Gilroy, California, which makes
industrial equipment and earth movers.
1955; Six brand-new wheeled tractors with 6 speed trnsmissions, available
with diesel or gas engines,
1960; White Motor Co. acquires The Oliver Corporation,
1980; White Farm Equip. Co. is purchased by Texas Investment Corp. which
them becomes prt of Allied Products Corp in 1985;
1987; Allied reorganizes its subsidiaries and forms the White-New Idea Farm
Equipment Co. This is the last manufacturing group to work in the Charles
City plant.
1992; The White Tractor Division becomes part of AGCO; tractor manufacturing
is moved to Independance, Missouri,
1995 The hart-Parr manufacturing plant in Charles City is demolished.
All information is from "Oliver Photographic History" by April Halberstadt
published by Motorbooks International.