The curious history of department store tractors

By the late 1920s, it was becoming quickly apparent that the tractor was no longer a novelty. During the previous two decades, sales had rapidly expanded amid both booms and then busts in the general economy. Already in 1920 there were slightly more than 200,000 tractors on farms. Within a dozen years that number would mushroom to 1 million, despite the expanding Great Depression.

This growth was not lost on Sears, Roebuck & Company, which had a strong relationship in supplying farms and ranches. Regardless of the Depression, Sears entered the horsepower market in 1931 with the Economy tractor built for the retailer by Peru Plow and Wheel Company in Peru, Illinois.

Selling expanded amid both for just $495 (belt pulley, booms and then busts in PTO, fenders, wheel weights, headlights, and rubber tires were optional) this plain-Jane tractor ran with a rebuilt Ford model A engine mated to a three-speed transmission. The Economy would stay on the market for just a year.

Shortly after introducing the Economy, Sears struck a deal with Parrett Manufacturing to build the Bradley General Purpose tractor. As background, the David Bradley and Bradley names were Sears’ designation for tractors, garden tractors, and an array of farm implements, much like the Craftsman name represented tools. The brand came from the company’s purchase of the David Bradley Manufacturing Works in 1912.

Sold primarily in Midwest Sears stores, the General Purpose employed a 210-cubic-inch Waukesha four-cylinder mated to a four-speed transmission. Unlike the Economy, the General Purpose was a full-fledged tractor with a PTO, belt pulley (which was unusual because it had two operating speeds), hand brakes for turning, and unique telescoping housing located between its differential and final drives. This design permitted the tractor’s rear tread to be adjusted from 56 to 74 inches (86 inches if you reversed the rims). This innovation marks the General Purpose as the first tractor with adjustable rear tread.

Only 300 General Purpose tractors were built because of slow sales. In 1932 Sears tried its hand at selling a conversion kit consisting of final drives, steel wheels, and related hardware that would modify the rear axle of a Ford or Chevrolet car so it would operate like a tractor. Dubbed the Thrifty Farmer Tractor, the kit was made by Peru Plow and Wheel Company and was sold on and off for several years during the Great Depression.

In 1937 Sears re-entered the fully formed tractor market in a big way with the Graham-Bradley 503-103. Built by Graham-Paige Motor Company, the tractor was completely modern featuring Art Deco streamlined styling and a powerful 32-hp. Continental six-cylinder engine. Other features included hydraulics, electric starting, lights, and engine gauges.

The Graham-Bradley stood at the top of the Sears range of tractors and David Bradley implements. Yet, despite plans to build 10,000 tractors a year, Sears’ interest in selling tractors waned and the machines disappeared from its catalog in 1940.

Twin Row

Sears’ involvement in horsepower wasn’t lost on one of its main competitors, Montgomery Ward. The rival company cast its eye about the tractor industry looking for a manufacturer to build Montgomery Ward a tractor to sell. Enter Cleveland Tractor Company, known for its Cletrac crawlers. But Cleveland was also building a small wheeled tractor in the 19-hp. General GG.

Ward had Cleveland Tractor rebrand its General GG into the Twin Row, which was adorned with red paint. Selling for $595 (without a PTO, belt pulley, or wheel weights), the Twin Row was sold along with a two-row planter and cultivator as well as a sickle mower and two-bottom plow.

The Twin Row scored limited sales when introduced in 1941 selling for $595, but the advent of World War II would stop its production in 1942.

With the conclusion of the war, Montgomery Ward once again explored offering a tractor. This time it contacted the Harry A. Lowther Company, whose model HR employed the unique Gyrol Fluid Drive, which was a variation on the torque converter. From those talks emerged the Twin Row model ER in 1950. Montgomery Ward would sell the ER for a couple of years before ending all efforts to market a tractor.

If the Twin Row ER looks familiar, the tractor had been previously built by Custom Manufacturing Company, which sold the tractor as the Custom HR. The tractor design would trade hands three times (Custom Manufacturing to Harry A. Lowther and back to Custom Tractor Company). Production of Custom tractors would end in 1959. During its 10-year existence Custom tractors would also be sold under the Lehr Big Boy, Rockol, and Regal names in the United States and Canada.

Gambles Farmcrest

The Gamble-Skogmo conglomerate of retail stores represented by the firm’s department stores and catalog sales enjoyed a strong presence supplying rural areas. In an effort to capitalize on expanding tractor sales, Gamble-Skogmo decided to dip its toe into the pool after World War II with a branded tractor.

The company approached Cockshutt in 1946 asking if the Canadian manufacturer would be willing to rebrand its model 30 as the Gambles Farmcrest 30.

Introduced in 1947, the Farmcrest 30 was a Cockshutt 30 in all aspects except for the logo on its hood.

The Farmcrest was accompanied by a wide variety of other agricultural implements including a plow, disk, cultivator, and even a self-propelled combine.

It appears the Farmcrest 30 remained in the Gamble machinery line for a couple of years until Gamble-Skogmo decided to bow out of the tractor market.