Long Live Lindeman

(Page 4 of 4)

November 2003
Jason B. Harmon 
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While building those implements, Jesse envisioned a tractor that sat low to the ground to safely pass through narrow orchard rows filled with overhanging branches. Thus, his crawler concept was born.

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By the 1930s, Deere & Co. wanted to enter the crawler market. The firm made a deal with Jesse to adapt Model B tractors to crawler treads, although Jesse also modified a small number of Model GPO, Bl, and BR tractors. Deere & Co. built the chassis, which included the engine and transmission, and shipped them to Yakima, where Jesse's company attached the undercarriage and tracks. Finished models carried both the John Deere and Lindeman names.

The idea proved moderately successful, and nearly 1,600 John Deere Lindeman crawlers were built and sold between 1939 and 1947. The tractors sold for less than $1,400, which wasn't cheap during the Great Depression, but farmers who bought the sturdy machines were generally pleased with the tractors, and many used them for decades on farms and orchards.

Jesse and his family sold their business to John Deere in 1947 for $1.2 million, and Deere & Co. unveiled its own crawler, the Model MC, in 1948. Jesse and family operated the Northwest Equipment Co., and produced a variety of farm equipment until it sold in 1982.

After decades of innovation and farming contributions, Jesse Lindeman died in 1992. Even though the famed farm-equipment inventor is gone, his legacy lives on with each Lindeman crawler.

To learn more about Jesse G. Lindeman, visit the Yakima Valley Museum's Web site at www.yakimamemory.org

The Model BO-Lindeman Crawler at a Glance

Built: 1939-1947
Serial Numbers: 329000-337514 (Serial numbers were interspersed with regular BO models)
Two-cylinder John Deere engine
Four-speed transmission
Bore: 4 1/2'
Stroke: 5 1/2'
Weight: 4,420 pounds
Horsepower: 16



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