Little Giant Stands Tall

Image Gallery A Little Giant tractor next to a steam engine in Mankato, circa 1910-1920. Image courtesy Dennis Dotson

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

'My grandfather killed the Little Giant tractor,' says Dennis 'Denny' Dotson, Mankato, Minn., owner of one of four Little Giant tractors known to exist.

Denny speaks colorfully, but the act was a business decision, pure and simple.

'In 1923, my great-uncle, Mankato Free Press owner Charles Butler, a stockholder in the Little Giant Co., contacted my grandfather, L.J. Fazendin, to manage (Little Giant),' Denny explains. 'Soon after arriving, my grandfather saw the company was overextended and stopped making the tractor. He scrapped out $20,000 worth of transmission parts, a fairly large amount of money even by today's standards. They'd purchased inventory, hoping to become the next John Deere.'

According to original ledgers, 500 Little Giant tractors had been built, the last in October 1920. Denny, owner of Dotson Co., Mankato (an automated jobbing foundry that traces its roots to Little Giant Co.), has heard stories about the sinking of a World War I ship that carried a large number of Little Giants to a watery grave. Scrap metal collections for two world wars made Little Giants even more rare.

Innovative for its time
Several things make the Little Giant unique, Denny says. The fan and steering wheel were cast aluminum, unusual in that era. Another out-of-the-ordinary feature is the spring-loaded hitch for smoother driving and operation. And a recommended fuel blend of kerosene and water delivered extra horsepower: The Little Giant was an unusually powerful tractor.

The Little Giant was the result of the brilliance of the Mayer brothers: Louis, Lorenz and Conrad. The three opened a machine shop in Mankato, in 1895. There, they produced a mechanical hammer, a revolutionary tool that in essence gave the blacksmith an extra hand, one stronger and more reliable than that of an apprentice. The hammer (also called a trip or power hammer) gained quick success, and the brothers formed the Mayer Bros. Co.

The innovative brothers invented and refined diverse products: boilers, gasoline and steam engines, hoists, steel beams, manifolds, road graders and ditchers, dredging equipment, traffic directors, woodworking equipment, band and circular saws, lathes, drill presses, retractable clothing reels and even a V-8 automobile. Except for the Little Giant trip hammer, which was perfected to peak efficiency, most products were produced for only a short time.

'It will make farming so interesting ... '
In about 1910, the Mayer brothers began development of a gasoline farm tractor. In June 1914, company literature said, 'Our work has been completed. In design, we have created a tractor that is good to look upon. In material, we have used high-grade metals with a prodigality heretofore unknown in tractor manufacturing. In workmanship, we have called to our side labor most skilled. In practical durability, we have produced an article that will outlive and outwork the horse and the ox. Offer it to your customers with the utmost confidence in the world.' Thus was born the Little Giant tractor to the 'House of Mayer.'

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print