Almost everyone in the antique tractor hobby is familiar with the sleek, streamlined farm tractors built by Graham-Paige Motors in 1938-39, and sold through Sears Farm Stores as Graham-Bradleys. The Graham-Bradley wasn’t the first tractor venture for either Sears or Graham, however. This story is about the Graham brothers’ first fling at building a tractor.
The three Graham brothers — Joseph (1882-1970), Robert (1885-1967) and Ray (1887-1932) — were born to a prosperous farmer and businessman in Washington, the county seat of Daviess County in the far southwestern part of Indiana.
As a young man fresh out of college, Joseph, with his father’s help, bought a glass bottle and jar factory. He was later joined by his brothers, and the three turned Graham Glass Co. into a profitable concern. Ray Graham was also heavily involved in the Grahams’ nearly 1,500-acre farm and felt a better way than wagons and teams was needed to transport farm goods. He began to experiment with ways to transform the ubiquitous Model T Ford flivver into a serviceable truck.
The resulting Graham Bros. truck attachment was an immediate success and demand was heavy, so options were expanded to include kits for most makes of cars then on the market. World War I increased the demand and Graham became the largest truck attachment builder in the country.